PCG cuts through China Sea barrier

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has started removing the floating barrier that Chinese maritime authorities installed to block access to the disputed Panatag or Scarborough Shoal.

In a post on X last night, PCG spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea ordered the PCG “to execute a special operation to remove the floating barrier that obstructed the southeast entrance of Bajo de Masinloc.”

Tarriela said President Marcos directed task force chairman National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to relay the order to the PCG.

Videos shared by Tarriela showed a PCG diver swimming toward one of the buoys and cutting the rope with a knife. Other Coast Guard personnel lifted what appeared to be an anchor.

Tarriela maintained the barrier posed a hazard to navigation, which he described as “a clear violation of international law.”

The buoys also prevented Filipinos from catching fish in the area claimed by both the Philippines and China, he added.

“They hinder the livelihood of Filipino fisherfolk in the shoal, violate international law and infringe on the Philippines’ sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc, hence the need to remove them which is aligned with
 international law and Philippine sovereignty over the shoal,” he said.

Earlier Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin said the Philippines may remove the floating barrier installed by the China Coast Guard (CCG) in Bajo de Masinloc  in the exercise of its rights over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“It’s a violation of our rights to our EEZ. We can remove this,” Remulla said at a press briefing, referring to the floating barrier laid down by the Chinese to keep Filipino fishermen from the shoal lagoon also called Scarborough.

“That’s interfering on something that has been granted to us in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). That is an interference in our activities,” the department chief said.

He said the executive branch must first agree on how to proceed with the dismantling of the floating barrier.

For a militant fishers group, President Marcos should order the outright removal of the floating barrier and not just file another protest.

“The Marcos administration must go beyond lodging diplomatic protests and take the necessary steps to have these nuisance floating objects immediately removed from our territorial waters,” Bobby Roldan, vice chairman for Luzon of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), said yesterday.

At the DOJ briefing, Remulla said he intends to meet with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) within the week to discuss China’s latest act of harassment in the West Philippine Sea.

He also stressed the removal of the floating barrier would be carried out by the PCG, a civilian entity.

The PCG has submitted a report on the matter to the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea headed by Marcos and is just awaiting orders from the Chief Executive on its next course of action, said PCG and task force spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela in an interview over radio dzBB. Comprising the task force are the DOJ, DFA and the Department of National Defense.

Diplomacy

Asked if the PCG can just remove the barrier, Tarriela said the government should be diplomatic in dealing with the issue, lest it might set off another crisis.

He was referring to the 2012 standoff between the Philippine Navy and the Chinese maritime militia triggered by the latter’s blocking the arrest of poachers in Panatag Shoal.

The Chinese would later establish permanent presence in the area, prompting the Aquino administration to file a case in 2013 before the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague. The international court decided in favor of the Philippines in 2016 and invalidated China’s massive claim in the South China Sea.

“That is why we have to approach this with so much carefulness,” he said.

A Chinese coast guard vessel and a service boat of the Chinese maritime militia installed the barrier just as the BRP Datu Bankaw of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) was arriving to deliver grocery items and fuel subsidies to Filipino fishermen on 50 fishing boats.

The CCG vessels initiated 15 radio challenges in an attempt to expel the BFAR vessel and the fishermen from the area, but later withdrew on seeing media personnel documenting the incident.

Tarriela said the PCG and BFAR “complied with our mission to deliver grocery items and fuel subsidy,” as well as record the procedure.

He added the Chinese would only install the barrier every time they sense the arrival of more Filipino fishermen in the area.

Still a success

Despite the presence of the floating barrier, Tarriela maintained that Datu Bankaw’s mission was a success.

“For the first time a BFAR vessel, a Philippine government vessel, came as close to a distance of only 300 meters of Bajo,” he said. “This victory we still have to consider.”

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año also said the floating barrier must definitely go.

“We will take all appropriate actions to cause the removal of the barriers and to protect the rights of our fishermen in the area,” he said in a statement.

“We condemn the installation of floating barriers by CCG in Bajo de Masinloc,” he said.

“The placement by the People’s Republic of China of a barrier violates the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen whose rights have been affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Ruling,” Año said.

He also noted that China’s action was a violation of the 2016 arbitral court ruling.

“Any State that prevents them from doing artisanal fishing there violates UNCLOS and international law, in general,” he emphasized.

National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya also said that based on the UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award, the Philippines has the right to remove Chinese floating barriers in the West Philippine Sea.

Malaya stressed that Bajo de Masinloc is within the 200-nautical mile EEZ of the Philippines and that Filipinos have been fishing in the area for centuries.

He said helping Filipino fishermen is a priority of the government, whether in the West Philippine Sea or in any other part of the country.

Preparing case

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra meanwhile said his office is gathering information on all incidents of Chinese abuses in the West Philippine Sea.

“We need solid evidence that will stand up in any tribunal. We will carefully evaluate the pros and cons of each legal option before we make any recommendation to the President and to the DFA,” Guevarra said in a text message.

Guevarra earlier said the Office of the Solicitor General is in the “fact-finding and data gathering stage” in preparation for the possible filing of a new complaint against China before an international tribunal.

Meanwhile, Pamalakaya’s Roldan said the 300-meter floating barrier was just the latest obstacle set by the Chinese to keep Filipino fishermen from venturing into the shoal.

“Even before these buoys, we are unable to return to the lagoon inside the Panatag Shoal due to the permanent presence of at least two Chinese Coast Guard vessels in its passage,” Roldan said.

“The said lagoon is crucial for Filipinos, especially in times of turbulent weather and rough seas, because it serves as a safe harbor for our fishing vessels,” Roldan added.

Roldan said that China has no legal basis to put up or install anything in the country’s traditional fishing grounds.

“This recent dastardly act by the Chinese government will further impede our fishing activities and consequently affect our fishing production,” he stressed.

The PCG or the Philippine Navy, he pointed out, could just eject the buoys right away, as their being put there is against international law.

“We are expecting more from our maritime authorities, such as enforcing the basic rules of engagement in a situation like this,” he said. — Helen Flores, Bella Cariaso, Michael Punongbayan