The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), upon the directive of Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil L. Gavan, deployed PCG aircraft 2081 (Cessna Grand Caravan) and the BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) on 27 September 2026 to locate and challenge China Coast Guard vessel CCG-3303, which had been monitored loitering approximately 35 nautical miles northwest of Cabra Island, Occidental Mindoro—well within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
At 0840H, PCG-2081 took off from Manila for a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight over the area. At 0920H, the aircraft visually confirmed CCG-3303 at 36.61 nautical miles northwest of Cabra Island. PCG-2081 issued multiple radio challenges asserting that the vessel was operating inside the Philippine EEZ without authority. CCG-3303 did not respond to any of the challenges.
Later in the day, while proceeding to the vicinity of Cabra Island for a maritime patrol, the BRP Teresa Magbanua monitored three People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA-N) warships—bow numbers 572, 536, and 551—operating approximately 31 nautical miles northwest of the island.
As of this afternoon, MRRV-9701 was shadowing the PLA-N vessels at distances ranging from 0.74 to 6.28 nautical miles while maintaining PCG presence and visibility in the area. This follows the sighting of a PLA-N frigate with bow number 569 approximately 22 nautical miles east-northeast of Bajo de Masinloc on 26 September.
The PCG assesses that the presence of CCG-3303 and the PLA-N warships is likely connected to the Chinese naval shadowing of the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Maritime Security Joint Cooperative Activity, which concluded its at-sea phase in the West Philippine Sea this week. The China Coast Guard’s silence in response to PCG radio challenges near Cabra Island mirrors this pattern and strongly suggests that CCG-3303 was operating in support of the PLA-N monitoring effort rather than performing any legitimate coast guard function.
The PCG reiterates that the waters northwest of Cabra Island lie within the Philippine EEZ, where the Philippines exercises sovereign rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award. The PCG will continue to deploy its air and surface assets to monitor, document, and challenge foreign vessels operating in Philippine waters without authorization.
This deployment is in accordance with the guidance of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who has consistently directed the PCG to maintain presence in strategic locations in the West Philippine Sea and has declared that the Philippines does not intend to yield and that he will not preside over any process that abandons even a square inch of Philippine territory. Malacañang has likewise affirmed that government agencies acting in accordance with the law to defend the country’s rights and interests in the WPS have the full support of the President.
https://x.com/jaytaryela/status/2104169884301369619
