The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), in coordination with the Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine Corps, repelled five unauthorized foreign fishing vessels from the territorial waters of Kota Island in Palawan on October 11.
The PCG said personnel spotted one vessel preparing to fish illegally about 200 meters from the shoreline at around 2:15 p.m., while another was loitering one nautical mile west of the island. Neither vessel responded to radio challenges.
After deploying two rubber boats carrying six PCG personnel, authorities spotted three more vessels approaching the island. All five eventually withdrew beyond Kota Island’s 12-nautical-mile territorial sea. The operation ended at 4 p.m. without incident.
The latest operation came two days after Philippine forces drove away Chinese Maritime Militia Vessel 9622 and 22 sampans from the island on October 9. The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) had condemned that incident, alleging unauthorized fishing and waste dumping, as well as the Chinese vessel’s attempt to encircle Philippine boats.
“Kota Island is an integral part of the Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan, and its territorial sea is under Philippine sovereignty,” the NTF-WPS said in its October 10 statement.
The PCG said it would continue monitoring the waters around Kota Island and coordinate with the Philippine Navy and Philippine Marine Corps to protect the country’s maritime territory.
