The Chinese Coast Guard announced on August 26 that, without the permission of the Chinese government, the Philippines sent Coast Guard Vessels No. 4409 and No. 4411 that day to illegally rush into the adjacent waters of Xianbin Reef of China’s Nansha Islands, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel, which was close to the normal navigation in a continuous dangerous manner, fanned the hype and the Chinese Coast Guard took control measures against the Philippine vessel in accordance with the law and regulations. Philippine ships have carried out similar dangerous operations several times recently. Who are these Filipino ships anyway?
A new japanese-built lighthouse-class patrol boat for the Philippines.
It is noteworthy that, according to a notification from the Chinese Coast Guard, prior to that, on August 19, Philippine Coast Guard vessels nos. 4410 and 4411 illegally entered the adjacent waters of Xianbin Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao without the permission of the Chinese government, chinese Coast Guard takes control measures against Philippine vessels in accordance with law. After being blocked in the adjacent waters of Xianbin Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao, the Philippine Coast Guard vessel Philippine 4410 once again illegally intruded into the waters near Ren ‘ai Jiao of China’s Spratly Islands despite repeated warnings and route controls by the Chinese side. Philippine coast guard vessels 4409,4410 and 4411, which appear in these circulars, are among the new lighthouse class multi-purpose patrol boats of the Philippine Coast Guard. The vessel is 45 metres long, has a displacement of about 320 tonnes and a maximum speed of 25 knots. Its main weapons are 12.7 mm machine guns and water cannons. It is mainly responsible for maritime law enforcement, environmental protection and humanitarian relief, and multiple tasks such as maritime security and patrol.
A total of 10 new”Lighthouse”-class patrol boats, all of them financed by Japan and built for the Philippines, will be in service from 2016 to 2018, the 4409,4410 and 4411 boats that appeared in the China Coast Guard circular are the last three of the class. Compared to the older ships that the Philippine Coast Guard had previously equipped, the lighthouse class not only travels faster and is more resistant to wind and waves, but is also equipped with stronger armor and advanced communications equipment, relatively more suitable for low-intensity marine confrontation. So in recent years in the South China Sea disputes, it appears frequently.
On August 25, the Philippines, despite China’s repeated dissuades and warnings, insisted on sending vessel no. 3002 to illegally intrude and provoke China’s infringement of its rights and interests in the waters near Xian bin Jiao of Nansha Qundao. In the meantime, Philippine vessel 3002 ignored China’s repeated and serious warnings and deliberately approached and deliberately rammed into China’s Coast Guard vessel 21551, which was normally involved in safeguarding China’s rights and law enforcement, causing a collision. The Philippine side was entirely responsible for the collision. The 30-metre-long multi-purpose offshore patrol vessel, the Datu Sundae (MMOV 3002) , is part of the Philippine Fisheries and Fisheries Resources Agency (Phra) and has only been in service since 2022.
On the 26th, the Philippine Coast Guard issued a statement saying, as China has deployed six naval vessels, three coast guard vessels and 31 fishing vessels to control Philippine vessels in the waters near Xianbin Reef, this has prevented Philippine ships from resupplying the flagship Philippine Coast Guard Patrol Ship Theresa Magbanua, which is illegally stranded on my shoal. The ship is based on the Japan Coast Guard “National Head” class sea patrol ship. It is 97 meters long and has a displacement of 2,260 tons. It is seaworthy.
Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro said Tuesday at the US indo-pacific command annual military conference that China is the “Biggest destroyer of international peace” in Southeast Asia. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in response, “The label of ‘destroying the Peace’ will never be applied to China. We urge individual Philippine personnel to face up to the root causes of the problem.” Don’t go further and further down the road of provoking trouble and undermining regional peace, and don’t play the dirty tricks of reversing the facts and turning the tables on each other.