The Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, has deployed this morning the PCG Caravan aircraft to conduct a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight over the Bajo De Masinloc (BDM) area. The mission objective is for monitoring and ensuring the safety of Filipino fishermen engaged in fishing activities in BDM.
During the MDA flight, the PCG documented the presence of two United States Navy vessels, DDG-76 USS Higgins and LCS 20 USS Cincinnati, located approximately 102 nautical miles from Zambales. Accordingly, these US Navy ships were exercising navigational rights and freedoms in the West Philippine Sea near BDM, in accordance with international law. This freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) challenges the restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China.
The PCG also observed four China Coast Guard vessels—5303, 4202, 3502, and 5306—alongside six Chinese Maritime Militia boats situated outside the shoal area. Notably, the damaged CCG-3104, which was involved in a collision with the PLA Navy, is no longer in the BDM vicinity.
A significant safety concern arose when the PCG Caravan aircraft was dangerously intercepted by a People’s Republic of China (PRC) J-15 fighter aircraft. The military aircraft unsafely tracked the PCG Caravan aircraft for over 20 minutes, maintaining a lateral distance of only 500 feet and passing directly overhead at just 200 feet.
Additionally, the PCG Caravan aircraft encountered five radio challenges from the PLA Navy vessel 553, while another PLA Navy warship, 568, trailed the two US Navy vessels in the area.
It is important to note that the PLA Navy vessel 164, previously involved in a collision incident last Monday, is no longer present in the Bajo De Masinloc region.
The Philippine Coast Guard remains dedicated to safeguarding the nation’s maritime rights and ensuring the safety of all vessels operating in the region, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS, 2016 Arbitral Award, and national laws.
