ABOARD BRP MALABRIGO—In the latest act of Beijing's aggressiveness in the key waterway, a Chinese coast guard ship prevented a Philippine patrol vessel racing onto a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, provoking a terrifying near-collision.
During a weeklong sovereignty patrol in one of the most highly disputed waterways in the world, the BRP Malapascua of the Philippine coast guard and the bigger Chinese ship engaged in a high seas face-off on April 23 at Second Thomas Shoal.
A new Philippine strategy aimed at exposing China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea, where an estimated $5 trillion in annual global trade transits, included the Philippine coast guard inviting a small group of journalists, including three from The Associated Press, to join the 1,670-kilometer (1,038-mile) patrol.
The Malapascua and another Philippine coast guard ship, the BRP Malabrigo, traveled to the frontlines of the long-simmering territorial tensions amid sweltering summer heat but relatively calm waters. In search of evidence of encroachment, illicit fishing, and other hazards, they traveled through a string of widely dispersed islands, islets, and reefs that the Philippines claimed, occupied, and claimed.
The Philippine patrol ships received radio warnings in Chinese and halting English ordering them to leave what the Chinese coast guard and navy radio callers claimed were Beijing's "undisputable territories" and issuing vague threats for defiance in areas under China's control or occupation.
In the most hotly contested area of the busy sea channel, the Philippine-controlled Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly archipelago, hostilities reached their peak that Sunday morning.
The Chinese coast guard repeatedly radioed the two patrol vessels to leave the region, which is around 194 kilometers (121 miles) west of the Philippine island province of Palawan, as they neared the shoal's shallow turquoise waters for an underwater reconnaissance.
After many radio exchanges, a transmission from the Chinese coast guard warned of unnamed hostile activity while sounded furious.
“Since you have disregarded our warning, we will take further necessary measures on you in accordance with the laws and any consequences entailed will be borne by you,” the Chinese speaker said.
A Chinese coast guard vessel quickly drew near and followed the Malabrigo and the smaller Malapascua. The Chinese ship abruptly switched to block the Malapascua as it proceeded into the opening of the shoal, approaching as close as 36 to 46 meters (120 to 150 feet) from its bow, according to Capt. Rodel Hernandez, the Malapascua's captain.
Hernandez quickly changed the direction of his boat, then turned off the engine and brought it to a complete stop to prevent a collision.
Filipino crew members on board the ships, as well as journalists who photographed the tense situation, watched in fear. However, the Malapascua took a turn just in time to avert a potential catastrophe.
Hernandez subsequently informed reporters that the Chinese coast guard ship had broken international collision avoidance regulations with its "sudden and really very dangerous maneuver." For the sake of the crew members' and ships' safety, he ordered the Philippine ships to evacuate the region following the incident.
An enormous Chinese naval ship had earlier followed the two Philippine patrol boats as they navigated in the vicinity of Subi, one of seven desolate reefs that China had turned into a missile-protected island base in the previous ten years. The Philippine warships were radioed by the Chinese navy ship "to immediately leave and keep out."
Before departing, the coast guard radioed back to declare Philippine sovereignty over the region.
China has long requested that the Philippines pull away the operational but dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre and evacuate its small naval presence. The navy ship, which was purposefully marooned on the shoal in 1999, now stands as a frail representation of Manila's claim to the atoll.
Hernandez claimed that Chinese ships often obstruct naval ships bringing food and other supplies to the Filipino sailors aboard the ship, including only a few days before.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his Philippine counterpart and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday when he was in Manila while fighting was breaking out between Chinese coast guard and navy ships and Philippine patrol boats. China was prepared to cooperate with the Philippines to address issues and strengthen relations, according to Qin.
When the AP asked the Chinese Embassy in Manila for comment on the incidents, they did not react right away.
