By Pitz Orpiano
Earlier this month of August, the recent aggression showcased by China in an attempt to defer the Philippine supply ships, escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard, has managed to get into the headlines of the country’s primary mainstream media outlets, and became the primary talk among common folks, on streets and on social media.
This recent incident involves the aggressive use of water cannons by China Coast Guard vessels on both the Philippine civilian supply ships and the escorts, while at the same time, these same Chinese white-hulled vessels attempt to block the path of their Philippine counterparts, a tactic known by experts on matters in the West Philippine Sea as the ‘gray zone’, a tactic that employs very reckless means short of war.
The gray tactics shown by the China Coast Guard, coupled with multiple maritime militia vessels that help enforce an unofficial blockade on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, show the shortcomings of the Philippine authorities, specifically the Coast Guard, regarding the use of its vessels that are clearly outnumbered by what the Chinese have mustered during the incident.
And the situation becomes dire for the Philippines as maritime experts like retired U.S. Air Force Col. Ray Powell said in a Sealight article he crafted that China is betting on the fact that the BRP Sierra Madre has slowly become more inhabitable for assigned Philippine Marine Corps onboard through time, eventually making it effective for China to get control over Ayungin Shoal eventually as its latest holding in the West Philippine Sea, a move that is clearly illegal both in the 2016 Arbitral Ruling and the guidelines of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.
With the dire situation slowly showing how hard will it be for the Philippines to conduct its future replenishment missions, it is also showing an opportunity for the Philippine Coast Guard to push for any kind of funding or support from the national government that will enable the leadership to buy additional white-hull vessels that further push its capabilities in making sure that any future replenishment missions they escorted getting a higher chance for success.
In fact, this opportunity comes hand-in-hand with the calls coming from the Philippine Coast Guard earlier this year, expressing its desire to add at least five additional Teresa Magbanua-class Multirole Response Vessels or MRRVs, a large white-hulled vessel derived from Japan Coast Guard’s Kunigami-class Offshore Patrol Vessels that have the length of 97 meters.
In context, the Philippine Coast Guard currently has at least ten (10) 44-meter vessels known as the Parola-class Multirole Response Vessels, of which several of these ships actively taking part in the recent incident in the West Philippine Sea when it escorted supply ships for the Marine troops aboard the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
Aside from the ten (10) Parola-class Multirole Response Vessels, the Philippine Coast Guard also possesses at least two (2) 97-meter Teresa Magbanua-class Multirole Response Vessels, which given the current incident that took place, is not enough for the maritime law enforcement agency to further pursue its presence-related operations in the area, not to mention the idea of asserting the 2016 Arbitral Ruling by enforcing the country’s jurisdiction against the Chinese maritime militia vessels that masquerade as civilian fishermen in the area.
The opportunity for the Philippine Coast Guard to get more white hull ships at this time comes as the sentiments against the Chinese, and the nationalistic essence that it has got growing regardless of the ever-growing assertiveness of the pro-Chinese forces in cyberspace, pushing their narrative that it was the Philippines and the United States who push the provocations and not the Chinese.
With the situation expected to become much more tense over time with the BRP Sierra Madre crumbling slowly, it is the right time for the Philippine Coast Guard to convince the government, specifically the House of Representatives, to push the Philippine Coast Guard modernization program, if not to provide them sufficient funding for them to get more ships and recruit additional personnel, as the iron is still hot and it is best to strike it while it is hot.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In global maritime, white ship refers to non-military commercial vessels and its movement must not be deemed as a threat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Pitz Orpiano is a government employee and currently getting a Masters Degree in Public Administration at a prestigious university in Zamboanga City. He manages Pitz Defense Analysis, a website focusing on updates about the AFP Modernization, the details on military hardware potentially on the procurement list, and other discussions surrounding national defense.