By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
As part of its vested mandate to protect the country’s territorial waters from encroachment by any foreign power, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) continues its unrelenting Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
This, as the watchdog agency spotted a China-flagged research vessel conducting marine scientific research in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island’s Cay-2 and Cay-3, accompanied by Chinese Coast Guard vessels CCG 5101 and CCG 5309, and a few other rubber boats.
A day after spotting the floating research facility, identified as Xiang Yang Hong 33, the PCG noted that the Chinese vessel continued conducting its illegal activities within Philippine waters.
Xiang Yang Hong 33 is an advanced oceanographic survey vessel capable of supporting submersible craft and conducting comprehensive marine ecological surveys, bathymetric mapping, and deep-sea data collection.
In its MDA on Sunday, the PCG aircraft conducted multiple radio challenges to the Chinese vessels, calling on them to cease illegal activities and leave the area.
PCG Spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela said in an interview, “We’ll never get tired of deploying our assets—aircraft, coast guard vessels—to challenge and drive away this illegal MSR that does not have the consent and permission from our government.
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), RAdm. Tarriela added that the agency will continue to monitor further developments and conduct measures to protect Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction, noting the presence of 20 other Chinese Maritime Militia vessels near Xiang Yang Hong 33.
The statement read, “The PCG emphasizes that these activities constitute unauthorized Marine Scientific Research within the Philippines’ territorial sea, in clear violation of Philippine sovereignty and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Under international law, the conduct of MSR in another state’s territorial sea requires the prior consent of the coastal state. No such consent was granted to China or its vessels.” (with report from Carlo Luis Candelaria | PTV News)
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