The Philippine Coast Guard deployed two patrol vessels to protect Philippine fishermen at Iroquois Reef following reports of harassment from a Chinese Navy helicopter at the disputed South China Sea maritime feature.
BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) were sent to Iroquois, known to the Philippines as Rozul Reef and China as Houteng Jiao, after Philippine fishermen recorded a low-flying People’s Liberation Army Navy Z-9 helicopter on Nov. 28. It is unclear if the aircraft was deployed from a warship or one of Beijing’s artificial island bases in the region. The use of helicopter downwash was previously seen at Sandy Cay 3 when a Z-8 flew directly over a civilian scientific mission.
“This deployment also aims to provide evidence of the active presence of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea. Despite the potential harassment from the Chinese Coast Guard, their confidence in fishing in the WPS has significantly increased due to the firm stance and commitment of the President not to surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson on West Philippine Sea Concerns, stated in a press release.
ABS-CBN News reported that China Coast Guard vessel 5203 conducted dangerous maneuvers against Cape Engaño in the vicinity of Sabina Shoal on the night of Nov. 30.
Iroquois is located within Reed Bank, which has been the site of previous disputes between the two countries over the area’s energy reserves and fishing access. The Philippines claims the maritime feature under the West Philippine Sea, a section of the South China Sea designated by Manila to be within its exclusive economic zone, while China delineates the Guyot under its Ten-Dash Line map. In 2019, Yuemaobinyu 42212, a suspected China Maritime Militia vessel, rammed and sunk the Philippine fishing boat F/B Gem-Ver. A Vietnamese fishing vessel responded to the Gem-Ver’s distress calls, rescuing all 22 crew.
On November 28, the Philippine Coast Guard received video footage and photographs from a fishing boat that returned to Quezon, Palawan, which captured the harassment of Filipino fishing vessels by a PLA Navy helicopter in Rozul Reef.
In response to this situation, the PCG… pic.twitter.com/WjqPxLwkPt
— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) December 2, 2024
Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight Project at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, described the development at Iroquois as “a new kind of maritime imperialism” and “a further expansion of China’s maritime occupation of the West Philippine Sea.”
“From Whitsun Reef to Second Thomas Shoal, Sabina Shoal, Thitu Island, Scarborough Shoal and now Iroquois Reef, China seems to have decided that now is the time to extend its control to every corner of the West Philippine Sea,” Powell told USNI News.
The deployment marks the first publicized deployment of a Philippine Coast Guard mission against Chinese forces since the withdrawal of agency flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) from Sabina in Sept. The five-month-long standoff against Chinese Navy and Coast Guard assets came to an end due to damages sustained from a China Coast Guard ramming, a lack of provisions and an incoming storm.
While Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson of the National Security Council, told reporters that Manila maintained a “presence” around Sabina following the withdrawal, media surfaced in early Nov. of Philippine fishermen being blocked from entering Sabina by the China Coast Guard.
On the same day as the helicopter incident at Iroquois, the Russian Navy Kilo-class submarine Ufa (B-588) was spotted transiting off Mindoro. The Philippine Navy dispatched a patrol aircraft and flagship BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) to monitor the vessel, which only submerged following its departure from the West Philippine Sea.
