MANILA — The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) expressed surprise over the recent dangerous maneuvers conducted by the Chinese Coast Guard against two Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, despite a “preliminary understanding” between the two countries regarding the Ayungin Shoal.
NTF-WPS Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya reported that the incident occurred while the Philippine vessels, BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411), were en route to Patag and Lawak Islands early Monday.
Although the vessels were not headed toward Ayungin Shoal, the NTF-WPS had hoped that the “preliminary understanding” would prevent such incidents from happening in the West Philippine Sea.
“We are surprised, we are worried over what is happening kasi kakatapos palang noong, a month ago nagkaaroon tayo ng preliminary understanding with the People’s Republic of China sa Ayungin Shoal,” Malaya said in a public briefing.
“Wala po itong kinalaman sa Ayungin Shoal, ito ay may kinalaman sa another part of the West Philippine Sea. Ngunit akala namin iyong preliminary understanding sa Ayungin Shoal eh parang good will para naman sa ibang lugar sa West Philippine Sea, ay hindi na tayo masyado gawan ng dangerous maneuvers na ito, pero unfortunately mayroon tayo aerial incident over Bajo de Masinloc over a week ago, tapos ito naman mayroong paghaharang na nauwi sa damage to two PCG vessels,” he added.
According to Malaya, the dangerous maneuvers by the Chinese Coast Guard, which occurred 23 nautical miles from Escoda Shoal, led to a collision with the Philippine vessels, resulting in damage to both ships.
“Nagkaroon ng 3 feet hole sa kanyang auxilliary room at another 1 foot dent sa kanyang starboard quarter,” Malaya said, referring to the BRP Bagacay.
“For BRP Cape Engano naman, 1.1 meter hole sa starboard side ng barko at 40 cm damage to the engine exhaust of the starboard quarter,” he added.
Malaya explained that China may have assumed the ships were heading toward Teresa Magbanua for resupply. However, he clarified that the vessels were on a different mission in the West Philippine Sea, merely passing through the area 20 nautical miles from Escoda Shoal as they headed to Patag and Lawak Islands to deliver supplies to Philippine troops stationed there.