The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), together with the Philippine Marine Corps and the Philippine Navy, drove away a Chinese maritime militia vessel and 22 smaller boats from the territorial sea of Kota Island in the West Philippine Sea on October 9, according to PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela.
In a statement, Tarriela said personnel from Coast Guard Station Kota spotted Chinese Maritime Militia Vessel (CMMV) 9622 and its deployed sampans allegedly conducting unauthorized fishing activities approximately 0.55 nautical miles northwest of the island at around 3 p.m.
The nearest sampan was reportedly only 250 meters from the shoreline. The Chinese vessels were also observed dumping waste into the sea, the PCG said.
At around 3:30 p.m., two rubber boats carrying PCG personnel from its Special Operations Group, Maritime Law Enforcement Group and Coast Guard District Kalayaan Island Group, along with three Philippine Marines and a medical personnel, were deployed to confront the vessels.
Philippine Navy personnel provided radio and communications support from the island, while Philippine Marines monitored the situation and relayed updates throughout the operation.
According to Tarriela, the Chinese mothership circled and encircled the two PCG rubber boats during the encounter. Its master reportedly used hand signals to claim the area and direct the Philippine personnel to leave.
Despite the confrontation, the PCG team continued ordering the smaller vessels to withdraw, expelling them one by one over approximately two hours.
One sampan initially refused to leave, resulting in minor contact with the Philippine team. No injuries or damage were reported, and the sampan eventually departed.
By 5:30 p.m., all 22 sampans and the Chinese mothership had been pushed back to approximately 3.5 nautical miles from Kota Island and departed toward the northwest, according to the PCG.
SAME CHINESE VESSEL SPOTTED LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AGO
Tarriela identified CMMV 9622 as the same Chinese vessel previously driven away from Kota Island on September 28, when it reportedly deployed 24 sampans near the island.
In the earlier incident, the PCG monitored the mothership approximately 1.2 nautical miles northwest of Kota Island at around 10 a.m. The smaller boats subsequently spread out and were observed fishing within approximately 300 yards of the island.
A five-member PCG team aboard a rubber boat approached the vessels to challenge their presence. The mothership reportedly did not respond to radio challenges, although its crew acknowledged the instructions to leave through hand signals.
The Chinese vessel and all 24 sampans eventually withdrew following the arrival of the Philippine team, according to previous PCG statements.
The latest encounter marks another reported incident involving the same Chinese maritime militia vessel operating near the island.
In its earlier statement, the PCG described the deployment of multiple small boats from a single mothership as a tactic that expands a vessel's reach and sustains a maritime presence under the appearance of civilian fishing activity.
The PCG stressed that Kota Island is part of the Municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan and that the presence of a Chinese maritime militia vessel coordinating smaller boats near its shoreline raises concerns over Philippine sovereignty and maritime security.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a coastal state exercises sovereignty over its territorial sea, subject to the convention's provisions. Foreign vessels do not have an automatic right to conduct fishing activities in another state's territorial sea without authorization.
The Philippines' position on its maritime entitlements is also anchored in the 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea dispute, which clarified key maritime rights and rejected the legal basis for China's expansive historic-rights claims within the nine-dash line insofar as they exceed the rights permitted under UNCLOS. The ruling did not, however, determine sovereignty over land features such as Kota Island.
Tarriela said the Chinese vessel master's reported claim that the area belonged to China had no basis under international law. The PCG also maintained that unauthorized foreign fishing in the island's territorial sea violates Philippine sovereignty and applicable fisheries laws.
The agency said it would continue monitoring the waters around Kota Island and remain vigilant against further incursions by foreign vessels in the Kalayaan Island Group.
The PCG said the operation was consistent with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to protect Philippine sovereignty, defend the country's territory and safeguard the Filipino people.
Marcos has repeatedly emphasized the government's commitment to protecting the country's maritime interests in the West Philippine Sea, with the PCG and the Armed Forces of the Philippines among the agencies tasked with maintaining a presence in contested waters.
