PH Navy spots 3 Chinese vessels near Bajo de Masinloc; Chinese chopper tails AW109

MANILA — The Philippine Navy spotted two warships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and one ship of the China Coast Guard (CCG) near Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, during maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea on Thursday.

The Philippine Navy’s BRP Miguel Malvar conducted maritime and sovereignty patrols about 20 nautical miles south of Bajo de Masinloc, deploying its AW109 helicopter for a maritime domain awareness (MDA) flight.

Captain Paul Michael Hechanova, commanding officer of the BRP Miguel Malvar, said the patrol was generally successful, with no reported aggressive acts from the three Chinese vessels monitored by the ship.

“There were no untoward incidents or any aggressive acts coming from our three contacts of interest—the two PLA Navy warships and one China Coast Guard ship,” Hechanova told reporters aboard the Philippine warship.

During the patrol, BRP Miguel Malvar exchanged radio challenges with PLAN vessel 554.

Hechanova said both sides asserted their respective positions, with the Philippine Navy explaining that it was conducting a routine maritime patrol within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“It’s a normal thing here in the West Philippine Sea. They challenge us, they assert what they want to and also we assert our sovereignty and claims here in the West Philippine Sea,” Hechanova said.

“So, sinagot naman natin nang maayos—that we are conducting this routine maritime patrol in the exclusive economic zone ng ating teritoryo. Hindi sila sumagot sa ating response,” he added.

Hechanova noted that the Chinese vessels generally maintained a safe distance—although the PLAN 544 came as close as 0.6 nautical mile from the BRP Miguel Malvar—and did not display aggressive behavior during the maritime patrols.

Just seconds after the Philippine Navy’s AW109 helicopter was launched from the BRP Miguel Malvar, a Chinese military chopper took off from PLAN 554.

Lieutenant Hazel Joy Feliciano, pilot-in-command of the AW109 helicopter, said the Chinese helicopter tailed the Philippine aircraft throughout its flight toward Bajo de Masinloc and monitored its activities during the MDA flight.

“Nang nagpalipad kami—from BRP Miguel Malvar—nagpalipad din ng chopper si 554 ng PLA Navy. Nung papunta kami ng BDM, all throughout the flight, nakabuntot sila sa amin,” Feliciano said.

“There were no dangerous maneuvers that happened but sunud-sunuran po talaga sila. They were continuously monitoring us when we were doing the maritime patrols over BDM,” she continued.

Feliciano said the Philippine Navy aircraft spotted several Chinese vessels in the vicinity, including maritime militia vessels and a research vessel.

Numerous buoys were also observed inside the shoal.

However, Hechanova said the Navy was still verifying photographs taken during the MDA flight to determine whether there had been changes in the area.

He added that the markers and buoys observed during the flight remained unchanged and that the crew did not see any new structures.

Bajo de Masinloc, which is located 124 nautical miles west of mainland Zambales, is well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile EEZ.

It is 472 nautical miles from Hainan Province, China’s nearest land mass.

The shoal, however, has been under Beijing’s control since 2012.