China’s Navy Ship Tails Philippine Coast Guard Amid Sea Spat

Andreo Calonzo and Manolo Serapio Jr.
·2 min read
58

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines said a Chinese Navy ship “shadowed” its coast guard vessel en route to a Philippines-occupied island in the South China Sea in the latest incident between the two nations asserting overlapping maritime claims.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Philippine Coast Guard issued radio challenges to the Chinese Navy vessel that followed its ship on Tuesday, but didn’t get any response, spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said Thursday from Thitu island in the Spratlys.

Apart from the navy ship, 13 Chinese militia vessels and two Chinese coast guard boats were also visible from Thitu — an island with about 250 Filipino residents — as the Philippine ships approached the area, Tarriela told a group of journalists who joined this week’s maritime mission. On this trip, Philippine authorities will also assess the status of marine resources in the area, the spokesman said.

The Philippine coast guard’s remarks came after the nation’s military on Wednesday said at least 30 Chinese vessels, including a People’s Liberation Army Navy ship, were spotted around areas in the South China Sea that the Philippines claims as part of its territory. The back-to-back statements underscore an intensifying maritime surveillance operations, as tensions between Manila and Beijing have ratcheted up.

The Chinese vessels were seen on Tuesday, the same day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Bloomberg that the threat to his nation from Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea is growing and that the Philippines “must do more to defend our territory.”

In Scarborough Shoal, a traditional Filipino fishing ground, the military spotted six Chinese coast guard vessels and eight Chinese militia ships, the military said. In the Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a grounded World War-II era ship, there were six Chinese fishing boats and a coast guard vessel.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing escalated anew this month following a collision between their coast guard ships during a Philippines resupply operation to its military outpost in Second Thomas Shoal.

Manila said then that two Chinese coast guard vessels also deployed water cannons against a Philippines-chartered supply boat, prompting the two nations to trade diplomatic complaints over the situation.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to Manila this week, criticized China’s “provocative actions” in the contested waters as he reaffirmed the US security commitment to the Philippines.

(Recasts, updates with Philippine coast guard’s remarks from Thursday briefing.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.