The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) drove alleged Chinese poachers away from the territorial waters of Kota Island, one of nine occupied maritime features in the Kalayaan Island Group, in the West Philippine Sea on Monday.

Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said a Chinese Maritime Militia Vessel (CMMV) 9622 and 24 small boats were monitored at around 1.2 nautical miles northwest of Kota Island around 10 am.

Tarriela said the small boats, manned by two persons each, spread out at roughly 50-yard intervals and were later observed circling within 300 yards of the island, engaged in 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," he said.

Kota Island is an integral part of the Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan. ''Fishing by foreign vessels within its territorial sea, without Philippine authority, violates Philippine sovereignty, Philippine fisheries laws, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," he added.

Tarriela said in response to the monitored presence of Chinese poachers, a five-man PCG team assigned to Coast Guard Station Kota were deployed on a rubber boat to challenge the CMMV and its crew around 11 am of the same day.

"CMMV 9622 ignored radio challenges, and its crews acknowledged instructions to leave only through hand signals. Upon the arrival of the PCG team, the mothership and all 24 sampans immediately withdrew from the area. All PCG personnel returned safely to station with no untoward incident," he said.

He noted that CMMV 9622's refusal to answer radio challenges disregards basic norms of good seamanship.

"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," he added. Robina Asido/PHS