Philippines criticizes Chinese ship for “close range drills” in Scarborough Shoal

Scarborough Shoal, disputed area in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China. (Source: Wiki)

In a press release, the PCG said that the incident on March 2 took place while the PCG was conducting a maritime patrol operation around Scarborough Shoal (also claimed by China and called Hoang Nham). .

It is not clear whether the Philippine authorities have sent a protest note to the Chinese side.

PCG said it must wait for instructions from the National Task Force in charge of the West Philippine Sea (part of the East Sea) before making the incident public.

According to PCG, the above incident involved a CCG ship with number 3305 conducting drills at close range, approximately 20 meters from the Philippine ship BRP Malabrigo.

“This action limits the operating space of the BRP Malabrigo – a clear violation of the 1972 international rules for the prevention of collisions at sea (COLREGs),” the PCG stated.

According to PCG commander Admiral Artemio Abu, the force has asked the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to help resolve the issue through a “peaceful and rules-based approach”.

The DFA and the Chinese Embassy in Manila have not yet responded to this information.