The Philippine Navy on Tuesday confirmed the shadowing of two Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels to the civilian ship carrying the individuals with the Atin To Coalition en route to Pag-asa Islands.
In his latest press briefing, Navy Spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad noted the presence on the Subi Reef near the island, which was transformed by China into a military base.
“Because this is near Subi Reef. So, at any one time you would notice that there are a good number of maritime militia vessels and the Chinese Coast Guard. On the Atin Ito, they started sailing early this morning. The last report from the group was that they were being tailed by two Chinese Coast Guard vessels,” Trinidad said.
“The Philippine Navy, the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), and even other government agencies in the maritime domain are prepared to respond to support anything that they would need while conducting their concert at sea,” he added.
Trinidad encouraged other civic society groups to show their support to the government stand in the West Philippine Sea by conducting similar activities that would send a message to our internal audience and even the international community
The Navy official also said that despite the presence of China vessels in Philippine Islands, no significant increase was observed in their numbers.
He pointed out, however, that despite the fact that the presence of the foreign ship in Pag-asa Island was not a threat, China has exhibited a “pattern of aggression and coercive maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea.”
“The pattern of aggression of the CCG and the maritime militia happens after a maritime cooperative activity (MCA). Each time there’s an MCA, there is a change in their behavior, but after the MCA, they resume their aggressive and coercive actions. That has been the pattern of aggression by the CCG and CMM,” he noted.
“It’s because of this that your Navy, your AFP, (Philippine) Coast Guard, BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) are ready to respond for any eventuality,” Trinidad said.
According to the coalition’s update, CCG 3306 and CCG 21549 followed the M/V Kapitan Felix Oca approximately 54 nautical miles from El Nido, Palawan.
The Atin Ito Coalition noted that Chinese and Philippine forces exchanged radio challenges during the mission.
