BFAR VESSELS ON SCIENTIFIC MISSION HARASSED BY CCG, CHOPPER

Sandy Cays, Pagasa Island — Another incident of reported harassment on a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel were instigated by Chinese ships and a chopper on January 24, says the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

In a statement, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela confirmed the incident encountered by BRP Datu Pagbuaya and BRP Datu Bankaw while on their route to conduct a marine scrientific survey and sand sampling in Sandy Cays.

“During the mission, the BFAR vessels encountered aggressive maneuvers from three Chinese Coast Guard vessels 4106, 5103 and 4202, which exhibited blatant disregard for the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs). Fortunately, the skilled seamanship of the BFAR crew prevented any potential accidents during these dangerous confrontations,” Tarriela stated.

Aside from this, he noted that there were also four small boats deployed by the CCG to harass two BFAR rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) that were transporting personnel to the Sandy Cays.

The presence of a Chinese chopper was also reportedly seen during the encounter.

“Compounding the situation, a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) helicopter, identified by tail number 24, hovered at an unsafe altitude above the BFAR RHIBs, creating hazardous conditions due to the propeller wash,” he added.

Following the harassing incident, BFAR and PVG had to suspend and cut off their survey operations, not being able to collect sand samples at Sandy Cays.

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