PH Navy exec sees more accidents in WPS amid 'illegal' China presence
Philippine News Agency
By Priam Nepomuceno
August 12, 2025, 7:52 pm
MANILA -- As long as China continues its "illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive" (ICAD) actions, there will be more collisions and mishaps in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), a ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said Tuesday.
"From the onset of the illegal presence of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy, their ICAD messaging has been the cause of concern," PN spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo.
"And so long as they will maintain their ICAD activities and presence, incidents like this may happen again in the future," he added, referring to Monday's collision between two Chinese vessels — China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3104 and PLAN warship 164 — in Bajo de Masinloc.
The incident happened while CCG vessel 3104 was chasing the Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Suluan, which, along with other Philippine vessels, was attempting to provide supplies to Filipino fishermen in the area.
Trinidad said it was not the first time that a PLAN warship got involved in harassing Filipino vessels in the WPS.
"The Chinese warships of the PLAN have been conducting coercive and aggressive actions in the WPS for the past 20 or so years," he said. "It is not the first time a PLAN warship has been monitored conducting this type of illegal actions."
Despite this, Trinidad said all actions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will "always be within the bounds of international law."
"Yesterday's example should serve as a warning for all players in the maritime domain to exercise restraint and ensure their actions are within the bounds of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), COLREGS (Collision Regulations), CUES (Conduct of Unplanned Encounters At Sea) or other pertinent references," he said. (PNA)
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