16-5-2024 (MANILA) A convoy of boats carrying supplies for Filipino fishermen has aborted its plan to sail closer to a China-controlled reef in the disputed South China Sea, organisers announced on Thursday (May 16).
The convoy set off on Wednesday to distribute fuel and food to fishermen and to assert the Philippines’ rights in the contested waters. This mission comes just two weeks after China Coast Guard vessels used water cannon against two Philippine government boats near Scarborough Shoal.
Emman Hizon, spokesperson for the Atin Ito (This Is Ours) coalition, declared the mission a success. “Mission accomplished,” he told reporters on Thursday, noting that an advance team had already delivered fuel and other assistance to Filipino fishermen 46km to 56km from the disputed shoal the previous day.
Hizon stated, “Atin Ito will now proceed to conduct the final leg of supply distribution in the current area, as there are no more Filipino fishers in BdM,” referring to the shoal known locally as Bajo de Masinloc. He added that the group had received reports that fishing boats in the area had been “sent away by various Chinese vessels.”
WATCH: Atin Ito coalition waves the Philippine flag in the West Philippine Sea as the Chinese Coast Guard watches from afar. @ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/p3WlAtK98I
— Job Manahan (@manahan_job) May 16, 2024
On Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry had warned the convoy against any attempts to infringe on Beijing’s “indisputable sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal. An aerial reconnaissance by the Philippine Coast Guard observed 19 Chinese vessels, including a warship and eight coast guard ships, patrolling around the shoal.
The Filipino aid convoy, consisting of four wooden-hulled fishing boats and a coast guard escort, was about 108km southeast of Scarborough Shoal at 6am on Thursday, under close watch by a nearby China Coast Guard vessel.
“Despite China’s massive blockade, we managed to breach their illegal blockade, reaching Bajo de Masinloc to support our fishers with essential supplies,” Rafaela David, head of the coalition, said in a statement.
The Scarborough Shoal, a flashpoint since Beijing seized it from Manila in 2012, is located about 240km west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and nearly 900km from China’s Hainan island.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, disregarding competing claims from the Philippines and other nations, as well as an international ruling that invalidated its claims. To reinforce its stance, Beijing deploys coast guard and other vessels to patrol the waters and has transformed several reefs into militarised artificial islands.
