PCG: China reinstalls floating barriers in Panatag

MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese have reinstalled floating barriers around Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, apparently to prevent Filipino fishermen from entering the area, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported yesterday.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, said the China Coast Guard, aided by two maritime militia vessels, installed the barriers Monday morning while 26 Filipino fishing boats were in the area.

At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said they are leaving it up to the PCG and the Department of Defense to decide how to deal with the problem

“We already spoke with Commodore Tarriela and we cannot expose whatever operation they will undertake. But we trust the decision of the coast guard, the DND with regard to this,” Castro said at a press briefing.

Asked if President Marcos would order the removal of the barriers like what he did in 2023, Castro replied: “We have not heard of such a plan. Let us wait for the possible report on this and what will be the action of the agencies mentioned.”

Tarriela said the PCG had already reported the matter to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Navy said it is ready to assist the PCG if the latter seeks help in removing the floating barriers.

“In the event that assistance will be needed, the Philippine Navy, the Air Force and the entire NOLCOM (Northern Luzon Command) will be ready to respond. The patrol plans of the ships under Naval Forces Northern Luzon are being implemented as we speak now,” said Philippine Navy spokesman on the WPS issue Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad.

Tarriela said intensified patrols have led to more encounters with the China Coast Guard.

“If we increase our patrols, we will encounter more challenges from China,” he said.

He maintained that the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will strengthen their presence in the West Philippine Sea to ensure the safety of Filipino fishermen.

“As of now, there are no reports of harassment by the China Coast Guard. This is primarily because of the presence of four BFAR vessels and two PCG vessels securing our fishermen,” he said.

Tarriela also confirmed the presence of five CCG vessels in the area but they have not shown any aggressive actions.

He also revealed that five new 97-meter vessels for the PCG are currently under construction in Japan.

Radio challenge

Meanwhile, a US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft carrying The STAR and other journalists was radio-challenged by the Chinese Air Force on Monday while on patrol over the West Philippine Sea near Panatag Shoal.

The radio challenge to Poseidon, which left Clark Air Base at 1:25 p.m., was issued while it was on its way to the shoal. A BFAR aircraft was also in the vicinity at that time.

The P-8A Poseidon is a multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

Executive Officer Patrol Squadron 47 Commander Zachary Sipes said the P-8A Poseidon mission was a demonstration of US commitment to securing the Philippines and the Indo-Pacific region.

“I think the message that it sends is we are here to support the international rules-based order and a free and open Indo-Pacific. So our presence helps strengthen the alliances and partnerships we have in the region to let everybody know we are here to support,” Sipes said.

“Wherever international air spaces or international waters, we intend to fly consistently through those areas. We’re here to support the rules-based order,” he added.

US Navy Lt. Alexander Walker, the aircraft pilot, said the aerial mission is aimed at “keeping the international waterways safe no matter what.”

‘Biggest fiction, lie’

In Palawan, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. has criticized China’s hostile actions at sea and called its 10-dash line claim in the South China Sea “the biggest fiction and lie that can be sold to any right-thinking person.”

“Much as they (Chinese Communist Party) would like to claim, no ASEAN country accepts the legitimacy of that 10-dash line,” he said in a speech during the 49th founding anniversary celebration of the military’s Western Command (Wescom) on Monday.

He also emphasized the importance of Wescom as a “controlled laboratory of future developments” for a modern, multi-domain and interoperable armed forces under the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.

“We are beset by climate change. We have resources that are finite. Our population is growing. We’re an archipelagic country. We need each and every square inch of what the Lord and international law have bestowed upon us,” he said. He also praised Wescom personnel stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

The Philippine Navy’s Trinidad, for his part, called China’s 10-dash line claim “a joke designed for entertainment purposes.”

“It is absurd, no legal basis. It is beyond normal imagination. Take it as a joke,” he told reporters yesterday.

Trinidad said China has different audiences for its reassertion of its claims in the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea.

“Number one could be the internal audience of the Chinese Communist Party in order to provide a strong narrative to support the grip on power. It could be the Filipino population. It could be the international audience,” he told reporters.

“Suffice it to say, we have a lot of international jurisprudence that would support the stand of the Philippines. We have the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling. We have our Constitution. It is very clear that Palawan is part and parcel of our archipelago. Pronouncements like this by a foreign power should be taken with a grain of salt,” Trinidad stressed.

He said such a “joke is not even worthy to provoke a laugh from anybody. It only shows the level of understanding. No one is laughing at the joke.” — Michael Punongbayan, Pia Lee-Brago, Alexis Romero