China ships patrol Panatag, a year after Hague ruling

MANILA, Philippines -  On the first anniversary of The Hague ruling on the South China Sea (SCS) yesterday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the situation between the Philippines and China in Panatag or  Scarborough Shoal has remained the same.

PCG spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said, a Coast Guard Islander plane left Subic at 10 a.m. yesterday and flew over the disputed shoal which is being claimed by China, Taiwan and the Philippines. 

“This was just part of routine patrol. There was no untoward incident,” Balilo said. 

Four Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships were spotted in the area. Big and small Philippine-flagged boats as well as China-flagged boats were also seen fishing in the area.

During the routine flyby, the PCG also checked if there were Chinese installations being built in the area.

“We did not see any construction or any indication of a structure being built at Bajo de Masinloc,” Balilo said. 

The Islander returned to Subic at around 2 p.m. yesterday after seeing that the situation in the shoal remained the same.

Panatag is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The CCG has been conducting patrols at the shoal since 2014. 

The ruling, handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 12, 2016 on a case filed by the Philippines in 2013, concluded that no country had sovereign rights over the shoal and that all states with overlapping claims are entitled to fish there.

Although China does not recognize the ruling, its ties with the Philippines have improved.