Chinese Coast Guard Block Resupply Mission To Philippine Navy Outpost In Ayungin Shoal

Another incident involving a Chinese Coast Guard vessel has been reported by the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND). The Sept. 13 report to Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said that on May 14, a coast guard ship with the bow number 3305 blocked the path of three Philippine civilian vessels bringing supplies to troops stationed on a transport ship in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

The DND report, written by Philippine Undersecretary Cardozo Luna, said China regularly deploys at least one coast guard vessel near the shoal to monitor activities including the arrival of Filipino fishing boats and the resupply mission for the troops stationed in BRP Sierra Madre, a transport ship intentionally grounded to serve as an outpost of the Philippine Navy. The BRP stands for “Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas" that prefix the names of Philippine commissioned ships.

The report adds to a litany of aggressive Chinese actions against the Philippines in recent years. In May of 2018, a Philippine Navy vessel was harassed by the Chinese Navy at the same Ayungin Shoal. On June 9, a Chinese vessel rammed and sank a Filipino fishing boat and then abandoned the crew in the open waters. This became known as the Recto (or Reed) Bank incident that was brushed off as an “accident” by the Chinese and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Philippine president has been warming up to Beijing in recent months. He knows they are vastly outgunned militarily but have the approval of a United Nations arbitral ruling awarding them sovereignty in territories where China is showing its muscle.

China has offered to give the Philippines a 60-40 split of any gas or oil revenues that result from joint explorations if it ignores the arbitral ruling. This is currently under discussion between Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Despite this thaw in relations, it appears that Beijing has no plans to pull out its maritime militia in the West Philippine Sea any time soon.

“There is high possibility that Beijing will continue the employment of these vessels, which could be used for asymmetric warfare of sea control and sea denial, such as swarming tactic and ramming of other claimants’ vessels in the area, enabling it to make advancements in the maritime region without causing tension in the area,” Luna said.

Other analysts say these vessels are used by China to intimidate South China Sea claimants, to prevent them from accessing resources and energy reserves. The DND report took note of the “emerging trend” of Chinese warships navigating through the Sulu-Celebes Sea area, particularly in Balabac Strait and Sibutu Passage and it also identified 15 Chinese research vessels monitored in Philippine waters for this year.