Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel deployed on rubber boats drove away a Chinese fishing vessel and four accompanying smaller boats found illegally operating near Lawak Island in the West Philippine Sea on Thursday, October 15.
Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, confirmed that no untoward incident occurred during the maritime operation near the Philippine-occupied feature, which forms an integral part of Kalayaan, Palawan.
Coast Guard personnel launched a rubber boat to intercept the mother vessel, identified as Chinese Fishing Vessel (CFV) Yuetaiyu 63168, after monitoring its presence off Lawak Island. Upon arrival, the team observed four small boats deployed from the vessel actively engaged in fishing within Philippine territorial waters.
“The PCG team issued repeated radio challenges to the Chinese fishing vessel, circling it three times, but the vessel did not respond,” Tarriela said, adding that officers then proceeded to drive away the four small boats.
The smaller craft retreated to the mother ship, which subsequently weighed anchor and departed the island’s territorial sea.
Tarriela emphasized that operating small fishing boats from a mother vessel inside Philippine jurisdiction violates national laws, including the Philippine Fisheries Code and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.
Following the offshore encounter, Tarriela sharply criticized recent remarks by Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan, who suggested China could easily win if it used force and argued that the Philippines is fortunate to have China as a peaceful neighbor.
Tarriela rejected the diplomat’s framing, calling it coercive rather than reassuring. He noted that a guest who reminds a host that he could easily overpower him, yet graciously decides not to, is threatening the host nation rather than describing friendship.
Addressing claims that the Philippines should feel fortunate, Tarriela pointed out that Filipino fishermen harassed at sea, as well as PCG personnel who have faced water cannons, ramming, and military-grade lasers inside the country’s exclusive economic zone, do not feel fortunate. He reiterated that the threat or use of force violates Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, stressing that choosing not to use force against a nation whose sovereign rights are already being violated constitutes coercion, not peace.