PCG, Navy, Marines drive away Chinese ship, 22 ‘sampans’ from PH territorial waters

MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) led a joint operation with the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Marine Corps to drive away a Chinese maritime militia vessel and 22 sampans within the territorial sea of Kota Island in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) on Friday. 

In a statement, the PCG said its personnel on Kota Island monitored the Chinese sampans conducting unauthorized fishing activities around 3 p.m., positioned about 0.55 nautical miles northwest of the island. 

The nearest sampan was observed only 250 meters from the shoreline, well within the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea of Kota Island.

The Chinese vessels were also observed dumping waste at sea, PCG also said.

At 3:30 p.m., the PCG deployed two rubber boats from Kota Island. During the operation, the Chinese mothership circled and encircled the two PCG rubber boats, while the master of the ship signalled the PCG to leave.

The PCG continued with the operation, expelling the sampans one by one over a period of approximately two hours. 

One sampan refused to leave, resulting in contact, but with no injuries or damage sustained. It eventually complied and departed.

By 5:30 p.m., all Chinese vessels have been pushed back approximately 3.5 nautical miles from Kota Island and departed toward the northwest.

The PCG said CMMV 9622 is the same Chinese maritime militia vessel that the PCG repelled from Kota Island two weeks ago.

The PCG described the activity of the Chinese as a “blatant violation of the territorial sea of Kota Island and an affront to Philippine sovereignty”, especially since one of the sampans were merely 250 meters away from the shoreline.

It said fishing by foreign vessels without Philippine authority within Kota Island’s territorial sea violates Philippine sovereignty and fisheries laws, including the Philippine Fisheries Code and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

The PCG added that the Chinese vessel’s master’s claim that the area belongs to China has no basis whatsoever under international law.

Kota Island is part of the Municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan.

The PCG said it would continue monitoring the area and will sustain its vigilance against any intrusion by foreign vessels in the Kalayaan Island Group.