Manila, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command (WESCOM) said its troops aboard the Philippine Navy’s World War II-era landing ship avoided what would have been a collision in a flashpoint in the West Philippine Sea after an alleged “dangerously close distance” maneuver by China’s PLA Navy missile frigate during the former’s routine maritime patrol.
In a statement, the WESCOM identified the Chinese warship as PLA Navy 532 missile frigate, which it said “executed an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver by closing in and passing at a dangerously close distance” range towards BRP Benguet (LS507), the Philippine Navy’s landing ship built by the US during World War II and placed in service by the Philippines in 1976.
BRP Benguet was conducting a routine maritime operation near Pag-asa Island when the face-off happened on Wednesday, March 25.
“Such dangerous maneuvers are provocative and constitute a clear violation of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs),” the WESCOM said.
Pag-asa Island is the largest of the seven features of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in the West Philippine Sea occupied by Filipino troops and civilians. It serves as the administrative seat of the KIG covering 32.7 hectares, and 277 miles from Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.
Sightings of Chinese PLA Navy warships as well as militia vessels have been common in the island’s surrounding waters, with the Philippine Navy keeping tabs of their presence through a monitoring report released publicly.
“The measured and decisive actions of LS507 effectively prevented escalation while ensuring the safety of all personnel on board,” the WESCOM statement read.
“The Western Command (WESCOM) calls on the PLA Navy to adhere to established international rules and norms to prevent incidents at sea,” it added.
