Chinese fishing vessel runs aground off Pag-asa Island
Ulugan Bay, Palawan – A Chinese fishing vessel ran aground in Philippine waters east of Pag-asa Island on Saturday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.
The incident came as troops on board Philippine navy frigate BRP Andres Bonifacio PS-17 have been conducting a maritime patrol across the disputed waterways in the West Philippine Sea for a week, while the southwest monsoon and a low pressure area brought heavy rains to the western section of the country.
Pag-asa Island is the largest of the nine islets and cays in the Kalayaan Group of Islands in the West Philippine Sea occupied by the Philippines.
Details about the Chinese vessel bow number, its passengers, and how it ended up in Pag-asa Island waters were few, as the Philippine Coast Guard responding to local fishermen reports found the Chinese vessel already “extricated” from the area.
The Chinese fishing vessel that beached offshore Pag-asa Island was nearly identical to the Chinese maritime militia sighted midweek by journalists who joined the AFP maritime patrol.
The Philippine Navy said it mobilized troops as a protocol response to comply with International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea guidelines governing maritime safety.
“Yan po ang intention ng AFP since mukhang distressed po ang condition ng vessel so ready to respond ang ating AFP kung anuman ang maitutulong sa vessel,” Captain Ellaine Rose Collado, public affairs officer of the Western Naval Command, told reporters near midnight of Saturday.
[Translation: That was the intention of the AFP since it seemed the vessel was in distress so the AFP was ready to respond in whatever way it can help the vessel.]
“Hindi na po naka-dispatch yung tropa dahil na-observe din na-extricate na yung vessel from being aground… Walang humila. Kusa siyang nakaalis,” she pointed out.
[Translation: They were unable to dispatch since they observed that the vessel was already extricated from being aground… Nobody pulled it out. The vessel extricated itself.]
The AFP’s maritime patrol began at Pag-asa and cruised along the Philippine territorial seas surrounding Parola, Likas, Panatag, Kota and Sandy Cay. The AFP conducted ship-to-shore operations with journalists in some of these islands.
In at least two occasions, the AFP and Chinese navy exchanged radio challenges.
The first was on Tuesday, just before a C-130 carrying the maritime patrol contingent landed on Pag-asa Island, and the second was when a PLA Navy ship tailed the BRP Andres Bonifacio PS-17 while the latter was patrolling waters off Panatag Island.
