Manila, Philippines – Chinese ships drove away Filipino fishermen from waters near Scarborough Shoal on Monday, Jan. 12, in what the military said was this year’s first incident of aggression in this atoll – maritime flashpoint.
In a video filmed by the Filipino fishermen and released by the Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday, Jan. 13, a China Coast Guard ship with bow number 23521 was seen blaring sirens aimed at the smaller fishing boat.
That China Coast Guard ship in tandem with a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessel with bow number 621 closed in on the Filipino fishing boat within a distance of 30 meters, blocking the boat’s path about 16 nautical miles southeast of Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.
“The fishing boat’s captain changed course to the southeast to evade the vessels but reported being closely trailed by the China Coast Guard ship,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said in a statement.
The PCG’s remarks were based on the testimony by the fishing boat’s captain who boarded the PCG’s BRP Cape San Agustin that was sent as first responder.
“Ako po ang kapitan ng Prince LJ na ginigitgit ng China kanina. Mabuti na lang ay nandito ang tropa, yung Philippine Coast Guard, na awa ng Diyos ay sinaklolohan ho kami dito,” Ryan Jacinto, the ship captain of FFB Prince LJ, said in a video message.
[TRANSLATION: I am the captain of Prince LJ that was harassed by China earlier. It was a good thing that the troops were there, the Philippine Coast Guard, with God’s mercy we were saved.]
China has yet to issue a statement on the incident in Scarborough Shoal, but the Chinese embassy on Tuesday blamed Manila as responsible for the protracted tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
CHINESE SHIPS MOVING “CLOSER”
The number of Chinese ships spotted in four of the several shoals, reefs and other features of the West Philippine Sea has doubled to 41 last week, from just around 20 in December, based on the navy’s weekly monitoring.
In the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc alone, there were eight Chinese ships present: two from the PLA Navy, three from the China Coast Guard, and three maritime militia, the Philippine Navy said on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
In Ayungin Shoal, six China Coast Guard and eight maritime militia were monitored. In Escoda Shoal, there were three PLA Navy ships, six Chinese Coast Guard and four maritime militia, according to data.
Four China Coast Guard ships and two maritime militia, meanwhile, were spotted within the Philippine exclusive economic zone off Pag-asa Island.
“They are closer to the ships participating in the MMCA [multilateral maritime cooperation activity] we have conducted with like-minded nations,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, told a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
INTEGRATION OF BEIJING FORCES
The Jan. 12 harassment of a civilian fishing boat saw the Chinese Navy warship and China Coast Guard doubling down on a smaller vessel to cordon off Scarborough Shoal – a maneuver that Trinidad said meant that Beijing is upping the ante in its bid to control the West Philippine Sea.
“I would say this is the first harassment incident for the year 2026… These are coercive and aggressive actions designed to destroy the will to fish of our fishermen.” Trinidad said.
“Actions compared to 2024 to 2025 is [that] we now see an integration or closer approaches by the PLA Navy while the closer approach was conducted by the Chinese Coast Guard, the PLA Navy is now in a closer vicinity to the Chinese Coast Guard ships while they conduct harassment activities,” he said.
As Beijing integrates its forces, the navy has beefed up its maritime patrol of the West Philippine Sea with vessels fortified with newly bought sensors, the admiral said.
“Our patrol plans are in place,” Trinidad said.
“We have escalated our activities, our patrols, our presence in the year 2025 compared to 2024 and we will continue this with the arrival of newer platforms, newer aircraft not only for the Philippine Navy, but Philippine Army, from GHQ, enhancements in our maritime domain awareness sensors,” he said.
