PH Navy: China's use of LRAD shows increased aggression

The Philippine Navy has condemned China’s use of a long-range acoustic device (LRAD) against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), calling it a sign of Beijing’s increasing aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“The long-range acoustic device is an increase in the aggression of the Chinese Communist Party in the West Philippine Sea. It only highlights their illegal presence, coercive, and now more aggressive actions,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing.

On January 25, the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3304 reportedly used the LRAD against the PCG's BRP Cabra while it was conducting patrol operations off the Zambales coastline.

The LRAD emits high-decibel sound waves that can cause pain and potential hearing damage, according to the BRP Cabra crew.

The PCG also reported that CCG 3304 appeared to be accompanied by CCG 5901, infamously referred to as the “monster ship.”

“In the WPS, I would like to highlight that amid all of this increase in the aggressive actions of the CCG, the PCG has been standing its ground,” Trinidad said.

He also assured that the Philippine military, including the Navy, Air Force, and Army, was actively protecting the country’s sovereignty in the WPS.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea—a critical waterway facilitating over $3 trillion in annual trade—including areas also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, declaring China's expansive claims in the South China Sea to have "no legal basis." 

Despite this, China has refused to recognize the ruling. — DVM, GMA Integrated News