A patrolling ship from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) turned away seven Chinese and Vietnamese fishing vessels while they were inside the water of Palawan a week ago.
A belated report from the PCG on Sunday said the Coast Guard’s BRP Cabra dispersed five Chinese and two Vietnamese fishing vessels from the waters of the Marie Louise Bank on June 30.
According to a statement released by PCG Spokesman Commodore Armand Balilo, the Marie Louise Bank is located 147 nautical miles from El Nido, Palawan.
Balilo said the seven ships were monitored and identified through the radar and automatic identification system (AIS).
“Said PCG vessel utilized Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to conduct radio challenge to said vessels in accordance with the PCG Manual on Rules on the Use of Force within the Philippines’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” he added.
The dispersal of the foreign ships was reported in the aftermath of the week-long anti-terrorism and piracy training by the Coast Guard in the waters of Western Mindanao, the PCG said.
The training followed the 10-day maritime exercises also by the Coast Guard in the waters of Kalayaan Island Group and West Philippine Sea, including Scarborough Shoal in later April this year.
The challenge and successful dispersal of the Chinese and Vietnamese fishing boats were the second incident for the PCG, which also drove away seven Chinese maritime militia vessels at the Escoda Shoal in April during a maritime training.
Balilo said that after the successful challenge by BRP Cabra of the foreign vessels near El Nido, the PCG ship and its personnel went on to check the condition of 34 Filipino fishermen aboard F/B Xiroxira from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro.
The fishing vessel was also monitored by the PCG in the waters of the Marie Louise Bank.
“The Filipino fishermen said they were able to conduct normal fishing operations in the past two weeks without any untoward incidents at sea,” Balilo said.