Pag-Asa: Two Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) ships — BRP Datu Pagbuaya and BRP Datu Bankaw — were forced to suspend their marine scientific research (MSR) and sand sampling in the Pag-Asa cays after harassment by China Coast Guard vessels and a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) helicopter on Friday morning.

According to Philippines News Agency, the encounter involved CCG vessels 4106, 5103, and 4202; four small CCG boats; and a PLAN chopper with tail number 24, as the two Filipino vessels were en route to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) features. The BFAR mission aimed to conduct research and collect samples from cays 2 (Sandy Cay) and 3 sandbanks or sandbars located approximately five to six nautical miles off Pag-asa Island.

PCG spokesperson for the WPS Jay Tarriela stated Saturday, “As a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces, BFAR and PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) have regrettably suspended their survey operations and were unable to collect sand samples at Sandy Cays.” He highlighted that the three CCG ships made ‘aggressive maneuvers,’ which he defined as a ‘blatant disregard for the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs).’

The CCG also deployed four small boats to harass two BFAR rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) that were transporting manpower to the Sandy Cays. Meanwhile, the PLAN helicopter hovered at an ‘unsafe altitude’ above the BFAR RHIBs, creating hazardous conditions for the personnel onboard due to the propeller wash.

In a news forum in Quezon City, Tarriela described the latest act as ‘aggressive and escalatory.’ He noted it was the second time the PLAN deployed a helicopter to hover over a government asset this year, the first instance occurring when the Philippines countered China’s illegal patrol some 70 nautical miles off Zambales.

Tarriela emphasized, “As far as the coast guard is concerned, and together with the BFAR, this kind of action on the part of the People’s Republic of China is always considered to be aggressive and escalatory.” He added, “On our part, we are not going to carry out actions that will instigate more provocative actions or more provocative response.”

He further explained that the Philippines had been conducting regular sand sampling in the area after previously discovering that the Pag-Asa Island cays are in a degraded state. In the same forum, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ed De Vega stated that China should expect another diplomatic protest following the incident. “When incidents like this happen… China knows this, this should be no different,” he remarked.