DFA fires 2 more protests vs Chinese vessels at WPS reef
THE Philippines on Wednesday fired off its second and third diplomatic protests within a week for the continued presence of what are suspected to be People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) in the West Philippine Sea.
The demarche came a few days after Philippine authorities celebrated the vessels’ alleged departure in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), only to find that the blue-hulled vessels had simply scattered among Philippine claimed features.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) later clarified it actually sent two diplomatic protests on Wednesday to the Chinese Embassy in Manila against Chinese vessels’ continuing presence in the West Philippine Sea.
“One counts as the daily protest the DFA said it would do as long as there are ships at Julian Felipe Reef.
“The second protest is on the dispersal/displacement of Chinese ships to other parts of the Philippine maritime zone,” the DFA explained.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr., apparently read the presence of 240 Chinese ships swarming in the Philippines’s EEZ in a near midnight tweet from ABS-CBN: “At least 240 Chinese ships swarming in Philippines’s EEZ: NTF-WPS,” a reference to the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea.
“I haven’t heard anything from the .... NTF-WPS but I’ll take ABSCBN News’ word for it. Changing my policy of acting only on NTF requests,” Locsin tweeted.
However, Locsin said the news of the swarming is not as bad as the Chinese fishermen having poached as much as they can from the contested waters.
“The really bad news is NOT that they’re swarming as a prelude to legal possession—legally impossible; they really are fishing—everything in the water that belongs by law to us: fish, clams, and in such big quantities as to wipe out sustainability.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) first filed the diplomatic protest related to the presence of 220 Chinese fishing vessels in Julian Reef on March 21, 2021, followed by another in April 6, 2021, where the DFA vowed to “file daily protests over Beijing’s failure to pull out the vessels from the area.”
The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia is China’s alleged government-funded maritime militia operating in the South China Sea without clear identification. They are sometimes referred to as the “little blue men,” because of the blue color of the ship’s hull.
According to a Taiwan Congressional Research Service report, the PAFMM and coast guard are deployed more regularly than the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in maritime sovereigntyassertion operations.
This is in contrast to the “white hull” and “grey hull” vessels the PLA sends to the SCS, white hulls being associated with stabilizing presence, while grey hulls are regular navy forces, according to The National Interest, The South China Sea Hull Warfare.”
“White hulls” do not convey the same overtly militaristic, warfighting impression as regular naval forces (grey hulls) employed for this purpose,” it explained.
“The continuous swarming of Chinese vessels poses a threat to the safety of navigation, the safety of life at sea, and impedes the exclusive right of Filipinos to benefit from the marine wealth in the EEZ,” the NTF-WPS said, reiterating the government’s demand for China to withdraw all its ships in the West Philippine Sea.
A report by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command said the PAFMM vessels were spotted in the territorial waters of the Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan, and the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with 136 militia vessels spotted off Burgos (Gaven) Reefs; nine at Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef; 65 off Chigua (Mckennan) Reef, six (6) off Panganiban (Mischief) Reef; three off Zamora (Subi) Reef; four off Pag-asa (Thitu) Island; one off Likas (West York) Island; five off Kota (Loaita) Island; and 11 at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
Also spotted during the April 11 sovereignty patrol were the following People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels: two Houbei class missile warships off Panganiban Reef; a corvette-class warship off Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef; and a Navy tugboat at Zamora Reef.
Build outposts
MEANWHILE, an American tech firm on Wednesday suggested that the Philippines should build monitoring outposts in unoccupied features within its EEZ to deter foreign incursions in the WPS.
Liz Derr, founder and CEO of Simularity, discussing geospatial analysis that also provides satellite data imagery, said the Philippines can choose “key unoccupied areas within its EEZ where it could put up stations while increasing patrols within its waters.”
Derr told an online forum hosted by Stratbase ADR Institute: “If you are serious about protecting your sovereignty, and your people, you need to actively monitor, patrol and occupy features in your EEZ.”