MANILA, Philippines – A Chinese Coast Guard ship came dangerously close to a Philippine patrol vessel near the Ayungin Shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on Friday, April 28.

“On the morning of April 23, 2023, two Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels intercepted the PCG vessels that were in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said in a statement.

He added that the Chinese vessels “exhibited aggressive tactics towards BRP Malapascua and BRP Malabrigo, respectively.”

Tarriela said the vessel carried out “dangerous maneuvers” near the BRP Malapascua, “maintaining a perilous distance of only 50 yards.”

“This close proximity posed a significant threat to the safety and security of the Philippine vessel and its crew. Meanwhile, the CCG vessel 4202 persistently followed BRP Malabrigo at a distance of 700 yards, closely monitoring its movements,” he added.

According to a report of the Associated Press (AP), Filipino journalists were also aboard the BRP Malapascua.

“But the Malapascua steered just in time to avoid a potential disaster,” the AP report said.

According to the AP, Philippine authorities asked journalists who participated in the trip to not immediately release the information to give the Coast Guard enough time to brief officials from the Department of Defense, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Department of Justice.

Prior to the near collision, the PCG also disclosed that two Chinese Coast Guard vessels ordered the PCG vessels over the radio to leave the Philippine-occupied Pag-Asa Island.

The Chinese vessels told the PCG vessels that failure to comply “might cause a problem.”

“Despite this, the PCG vessels did not back down and responded by asserting their rights to carry out operations within the territorial sea of Pag-asa Island. They further asked the Chinese navy to leave the area immediately instead,” the PCG said.

The PCG has already submitted the report on these incidents to the National Task Force West Philippine Sea (NTFWPS).

“Throughout the mission, the PCG vessels identified over 100 alleged Chinese Maritime Militia vessels, a People’s Liberation Army Navy corvette class and two China Coast Guard vessels,” the PCG said.

“Eighteen Chinese maritime militia vessels were detected near Sabina Shoal. Despite the numerous radio challenges by the two PCG vessels, the CMM did not respond or comply with the order to leave the area immediately. Meanwhile, four additional CMM vessels, which appeared to be engaged in fishing activities, were successfully driven away by the PCG vessels from the territorial sea of Pag-asa, at a distance of four nautical miles,” the PCG added.

On the incident near Ayungin Shoal, Tarriela tweeted on Thursday evening, April 28: “While I commend the consistent courage of our Philippine Coast Guard sailors in patrolling the West Philippine Sea, I also extend my admiration to the journalists who accompanied them during a week-long maritime patrol to bring the story to the world.”

The incidents of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea happened at the same time its foreign minister Qin Gang made an official visit to the Philippines to discuss regional security issues with the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

During their meeting, the two countries agreed to establish “more lines of communication” on the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos will hold talks with US President Joe Biden on Monday, May 1. Marcos has said he would press his US counterpart to “make clear” the extent of Washington’s commitment to protect the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty amid rising regional tensions.

The White House said the US would “reaffirm its ironclad commitments to the defense of the Philippines.”

On Friday, April 28, the Philippines and the United States will close its 2023 Balikatan military exercises, its largest ever, with 17,000 American and Filipino soldiers who participated.

Meanwhile Reuters reported that China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that its coast guard had taken action to safeguard sovereignty after Philippines vessels intruded into Chinese waters.

The Philippines coast guard earlier said it was involved in a confrontation with Chinese vessels that made “dangerous maneuvers” in the South China Sea, the latest in a string of tense maritime interactions between the two countries.

Senators: PH should build a ‘bigger alliance’

Several senators slammed the Chinese Coast Guard’s “bullying” tactics against the Philippine Coast Guard.

“This was just the latest in a continuous and unbroken and apparently unrepentant string of incidents na hindi nila puwedeng sabihing aksidente. May pananadya na talaga dito (that they couldn’t call an accident. It was really intentional),” Senator Risa Hontiveros said in response to questions in an interview on ANC’s Headstart on Friday.

“I hope the Executive is not waiting for an even worse incident in order to finally put its foot down and tell China, tell Beijing to cease and desist in these kinds of actions and incidents,” she added.

Hontiveros noted that given these repeated incidents, “it’s right to continue in the direction in building bigger alliances.”

“A bigger alliance is a better alliance. More like-minded countries na gustong pa-behave-in ang China (that want China to behave) – for us to bond together with them,” she said, specifically referring to countries that have expressed support for the Philippines’ victory over China in The Hague.

Senator JV Ejercito shared the same position, saying, “We need to strengthen our alliance with right thinking nations to prevent Chinese [Coast Guard] aggression.”

Senator Jinggoy Estrada also said the Philippines should “seek help from our allies.”

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, for his part, urged the Philippine Coast Guard to remain patient in the face of China’s bullying.

“That is too much of bullying but what else can we do? Hundreds of diplomatic protests have been raised by our government but were just ignored by China. We cannot afford to fire the first shot – that would trigger a shooting war,” Dela Rosa said.

“My advice to our Coast Guard is to maximize their escape and evasion tactics and remember always that patience is a virtue,” he added. – with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com

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