THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday night said it had sent its biggest ship — the 97-meter BRP Teresa Magbanua — to monitor Chinese vessels near the coast of Zambales province in the country’s north.
In a statement, the PCG said Teresa Magbanua replaced the 44-meter vessel BRP Cabra, which arrived at Subic Port on Tuesday morning to unload the body of a fisherman recovered on Monday.
“The vessel’s departure from an area where the Chinese Coast Guard has been illegally present prompted Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan to deploy the PCG’s 97-meter vessel, BRP Teresa Magbanua,” it said.
It added that Teresa Magbanua was actively challenging Chinese Coast Guard vessels off the coast of Zambales.
Teresa Magbanua can displace 2,265 tons of water, compared with 12,000 tons for China Coast Guard (CCG) ship 5901, the largest coast guard ship in the world.
The PCG on Monday night accused China Coast Guard 3304 of shadowing its ship that was rescuing a distressed fishing boat near the Zambales coast.
It said Cabra navigated through heavy waves to retrieve the body of a Filipino fisherman using its crane and to transport it back to Subic, Zambales.
“It is crucial to note that the Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG 3304, despite being aware of the distress call from the Filipino fishermen, engaged in shadowing that hindered the PCG vessel’s efforts to recover the body,” the PCG said.
On Tuesday night, the PCG said it had tracked CCG 3304 at an average distance of 152 to 163 kilometers (km) from the shoreline.
Citing Canada’s dark vessel detection device, the PCG said it had also spotted three other China Coast Guard vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which China as occupied since 2012.
These include China’s “monster ship” or CCG 5901, which was about 184 km from Zambales; CCG 3502 at 244 km; and CCG 3103 at 248 km.
The Philippines has accused China of intimidating Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal and normalizing its “illegal presence” after Beijing sent its monster ship into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Jan. 4.
A United Nations-backed court in the Hague voided China’s expansive claim in the South China Sea in 2016, as it ruled the shoal is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen.
The PCG on Tuesday vowed to ensure the safety of Filipino fishermen, safeguard the country’s maritime jurisdiction, enforce international law and prevent the “escalation of tensions.”
Last week, it accused CCG 3103 of using a long-range acoustic device against its vessel near the Zambales coast, weeks since it started monitoring the area after the deployment of China’s monster ship.
The use of the long-range acoustic device marked “an increase in the aggression of the Chinese Communist Party in the West Philippine Sea,” Philippine Navy spokesman Roy Vincent T. Trinidad said.
He added that the Navy had monitored two People’s Liberation Army-Navy warships, five China Coast Guard vessels and two Chinese maritime militia vessels during its rotation and resupply mission on Jan. 24 for BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal.
“Depending on the previous rotation and resupply mission, there were fewer numbers this time,” he said.
The Jan. 24 mission for BRP Sierra Madre was the fifth after the bilateral consultation mechanism between Manila and Beijing on Jan. 16.
The Philippines grounded BRP Sierra Madre, a Word War II-era vessel, at Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert its sovereignty.
During their 10th consultation, Manila and Beijing agreed to continue resupply missions to the shoal and sustain the de-escalation of tensions in the area, the Department of Foreign Affairs said last week.
PACAF VISITMeanwhile, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday said it expects more high-level interactions with the US Pacific Air Force (PACAF).
PACAF Commander Gen. Kevin Schneider paid a visit to PAF Chief Arthur M. Cordura at Villamor Air Base near the Philippine capital on Tuesday, Air Force spokesperson Ma. Consuelo N. Castillo said in a statement.
“During the visit, Gen. Schneider and Lt. Gen. Cordura engaged in discussions on bolstering interoperability between the two air forces and excellence in combined operations,” she said.
She added that the two air force commanders emphasized in their meeting the importance of joint exercises and training in enhancing their forces’ operational capabilities. “The high-level meeting further addressed key areas, including information-sharing, airman-to-airman talks and routine maritime cooperative activities,” she added.
The two also discussed projects under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. expanded in 2023 to give the US access to four more military bases on top of the five original sites.
“As part of the visit, Gen. Schneider and his delegation will visit PAF Air Bases and EDCA project sites in Pampanga, Palawan, Cebu, and Lumbia Airport in Cagayan de Oro,” Ms. Castillo said.
“With this activity, the PAF and PACAF reinforce their commitment to enhancing interoperability, promoting operational excellence, strengthening bilateral relations, boosting defense capabilities and supporting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific Region,” she added.
Also on Wednesday, the New Zealand Embassy in Manila said the Philippines and New Zealand officially started talks in Manila for their status of visiting forces agreement on Jan. 23, a step toward boosting their bilateral defense relations.
The commitment to finalize the military pact came after discussions between Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during Mr. Luxon’s visit to Manila in April 2024, it said in a statement.
Once concluded, the deal would enhance the existing memorandum of arrangement, signed in 2017, between the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and New Zealand’s Ministry of Defense.
It will enable the military forces of both nations to increase collaboration and hold joint exercises in each other’s territories.
Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a lecturer at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde School of Diplomacy and Governance, said the deal would bolster Philippine defense capabilities and show the commitment of New Zealand to help the Philippines in upholding a rule-based maritime order.
“This shows that New Zealand is one with the Philippines in its advocacy of ensuring that freedom of navigation would remain supreme despite threats being posed by countries attempting to exert further influence over these waters,” he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.
The Philippines and New Zealand will celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2026. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Chloe Mari A. Hufana