The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has condemned what it described as the intentional ramming of a Philippine fisheries vessel by a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship in the West Philippine Sea, saying the incident endangered the crew and disrupted a mission to provide fuel assistance to Filipino fishermen.
The vessel involved was the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) BRP Datu Magat Salamat (MMOV 3015), one of three government ships deployed to the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys as part of the Kadiwa ng Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda Program.
According to the PCG, the BFAR vessel was struck by a CCG ship with bow number “21585” at around 11 a.m. on Friday, September 18.
The collision occurred about 6.36 nautical miles north-northwest of Abad Santos Shoal and roughly 54 nautical miles from Palawan. The other BFAR vessels involved in the operation were BRP Datu Paduhinog and BRP Datu Daya.
PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela strongly criticized the reported maneuver, saying the incident was not simply a routine maritime confrontation.
“For me, these kinds of incidents are infuriating, disappointing, and frustrating. For me, this unprofessional behavior, you can probably see on my post, it is an understatement to call this unprofessional or bullying by the Chinese government. This is purely evil,” Tarriela told reporters in a press briefing.
Tarriela emphasized that the BFAR ship was an unarmed government vessel conducting a mission intended to assist Filipino fishermen.
“This is not just an ordinary aggression. It is such a bad thing to ram an unarmed fisheries vessel whose only intention is to provide fuel to our Filipino fishermen,” he added.
Following the collision, BFAR coordinated with the PCG for the BRP Datu Magat Salamat to return to Coron Port, where the vessel is expected to undergo an assessment to determine its seaworthiness.
The two other BFAR ships remained in the area to continue the mission, with Tarriela saying there were no reports of similar hostile actions against them.
The incident adds to a series of maritime confrontations involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
The latest encounter occurred while the Philippine government was carrying out a fuel-assistance mission for Filipino fishermen in the area.