PH civilian mission crew arrives at Pag-asa Island

The mission crew of the fourth Philippine civilian mission in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) arrived on Pag-asa Island on Saturday evening, according to civil society coalition Atin Ito.In a statement, Atin Ito said its volunteers were set to disembark from MV Kapitan Felix Oca and transfer to M/L Chowee before docking at Pag-asa Island.“Another step closer to delivering supplies, solidarity, and a strong civilian presence in the West Philippine Sea,” the group said.Prior to this, Atin Ito spokesperson Emman Hizon reported that the convoy was shadowed by three China Coast Guard vessels surrounding its main ship, MV Kapitan Felix Oca, as the civilian mission closed in on Pag-asa Island.“A CCG vessel bearing bow number 5102 is currently monitored just 4 nautical miles away, while another, 5101, is positioned roughly 10 nautical miles out. Both have joined CCG 3103, which has been tailing the civilian convoy since yesterday morning,” it said.“More than 24 hours na nating kasama 'yung Chinese Coast Guard Vessel. Parang siya na 'yung nag-escort sa atin mula Manila hanggang Pag-asa Island at talagang sinusubukang i-shadow lang tayo,” said Atin Ito Coalition civilian captain and Akbayan President Rafaela David.(We have been with the Chinese Coast Guard Vessel for more than 24 hours. It seemed like it was escorting us from Manila to Pag-asa Island and was really trying to shadow and scare us. But as our fellow Filipinos and China can see, we continue to do our mission.)

The Chinese Embassy criticized the ATIN ITO initiative, saying its recent efforts have been unsuccessful and accusing the group of staging provocations under the guise of defending Philippine sovereignty:

“In recent years, ATIN ITO has repeatedly attempted to carry out provocative activities under the pretext of safeguarding the Philippines' territorial sovereignty, but all have ended in failure," the Chinese Embassy said.David responded, “Para sa amin, actually, parang China ang nag-fail. They have failed to scare us, intimidate us, and divide us Filipinos. Sa atin ang West Philippine Sea, may karapatan tayong pumunta diyan.”(For us Filipinos, actually, it was China that failed. They have failed to scare us, intimidate us, and divide us Filipinos. West Philippine Sea is ours, we have the right to go there.)David urged the Philippine government to maintain its strong stance against China ahead of next week's ASEAN Summit.Earlier on Saturday, PCG Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said a Chinese Coast Guard ship allegedly shadowed a Filipino vessel as the Philippine Coast Guard conducted a mission in the Kalayaan Island Group.Tarriela confirmed the routine Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight conducted by PCG aircraft PCG 4177 over the 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)," he said.

"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," the PCG official added.Tarriela said that the Philippine side issued several radio challenges to the Chinese ship.—MCG, GMA News