PCG issues radio challenges to China Coast Guard vessel near Pag-asa Island

A Chinese Coast Guard ship allegedly shadowed a Filipino vessel as the Philippine Coast Guard conducted a mission in the Kalayaan Island Group, PCG Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said Saturday.

In a statement, Tarriela confirmed the routine Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight conducted by PCG aircraft PCG 4177 over the island group.

The flight included a ferry mission for PCG technical officers—composed of a medical doctor, nurses, a dentist, and a priest—to boost personnel augmentation of the newly activated Coast Guard district in the Kalayaan Island Group.

“During the flight, the PCG aircraft monitored Chinese Coast Guard vessel 3103, positioned approximately three nautical miles from the M/V Kapitan Felix Oca, at coordinates 11°44’N 115°38.8’E (roughly 90 nautical miles northeast of Pag-asa Island). The vessel was observed shadowing the M/V Kapitan Felix Oca in the West Philippine Sea," said Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea. 

Tarriela said that the Philippine side issued several radio challenges to the Chinese ship.

“The PCG aircraft immediately issued several radio challenges to Chinese Coast Guard vessel 3103, emphasizing that it has no legal jurisdiction to conduct maritime law enforcement activities within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” he said.

Last month, the PCG activated the Coast Guard District Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The activation upgrades the existing Coast Guard unit into a full-fledged major district, which is headed by a Coast Guard commodore to ensure experienced leadership and strategic oversight in the area. 

China insists on ownership of almost 90% of the South China Sea, including areas that overlap with the Philippines' and other Asian nations' territorial waters.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has not recognized the decision. —VBL, GMA News