THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Sunday reported another “close distance maneuvering” by a vessel of the China Coast Guard (CCG) during a patrol in the West Philippine Sea early this month.
In a statement the PCG said the incident occurred on March 2, while one of its ships, the BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402), was patrolling the area of Scarborough Shoal, locally known as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.
The Chinese ship “with bow No. 3305… conducted a close distance maneuvering of approximately 21 yards toward BRP Malabrigo,” the PCG said, adding that this constrained the maneuvering space of its vessel, which was a violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
According to PCG Commandant Adm. Artemio Abu, this was the fourth such incident involving CCG ships at Bajo de Masinloc.
“The behavior of the involved CCG vessels increased the risk of collision with four of our capital ships. Hence, we immediately coordinated with the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to address this issue through rules-based and peaceful approaches,” Abu said.
The DFA and the Chinese Embassy in Manila have yet to comment on the latest “close distance maneuvering” incident. It was yet unclear whether the Philippines had lodged a diplomatic protest over the incident. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2022/Tina G. Santos)
