PALAWAN, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) successfully repelled a Chinese maritime militia vessel and two dozen accompanying small craft operating within the territorial sea of Kota Island in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).
PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela reported that personnel stationed on Kota Island spotted Chinese maritime militia vessel (CMMV) 9622 at approximately 10 a.m. on Monday, September 28.
The mothership was positioned roughly 1.2 nautical miles northwest of the island, which is an occupied Philippine feature governed under the municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan.
According to official reports, CMMV 9622 launched 24 small boats, locally known as “sampans,” each manned by two individuals. The vessels dispersed throughout the area, fishing and maneuvering within 300 yards of the island’s shoreline.
In response, a five-member crew from Coast Guard Station Kota deployed aboard an inflatable boat to intercept and challenge the foreign craft. While the mothership ignored repeated radio warnings, the operators of the smaller boats acknowledged orders to disperse via hand signals.
”Upon the arrival of the PCG team, the mothership and all 24 sampans immediately withdrew from the area,” Tarriela said.
All Coast Guard personnel completed the mission without incident.
Tarriela highlighted the strategic implications of the deployment, noting that using multiple small craft allows a single mothership to project a larger footprint under the guise of ordinary civilian fishing.
”Launching two dozen small boats from a single militia platform is a force-multiplying tactic that extends the mothership’s reach and reinforces Chinese presence under a civilian appearance, below the threshold of overt coercion,” Tarriela explained.
The PCG emphasized that unpermitted foreign fishing inside Kota Island’s territorial waters infringes upon Philippine national sovereignty, breaches local maritime regulations, and violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Coast Guard officials also cited the militia vessel’s refusal to respond to radio communications as a point of concern.
”The PCG will sustain its presence on and around Kota Island, continue to challenge and drive away foreign vessels operating illegally in Philippine waters, and keep disclosing such activities to the Filipino people,” Tarriela added.