'Angels of the Sea' aim to de-escalate tensions

Seawoman 2nd Class Stephane Villalon's voice reverberated on the bridge of her ship as she issued a radio challenge to a much larger Chinese Coast Guard vessel in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

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The five-foot-tall radio operator is one of the Philippine Coast Guard's 81 "Angels of the Sea," graduates of an all-women training program aimed at defusing encounters in the critical waterway.

"China Coast Guard vessel 5303, this is Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410). You are advised that you are currently sailing within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone," she said during an encounter videotaped last month. "You are directed to depart immediately and notify us of your intention."

Villalon's action during the incident was precisely what the coast guard envisioned when it launched the Angels program four years ago.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and its coast guard has clashed repeatedly with that of the Philippines, sparking fears of an armed conflict.

"(The program) helps with our engagement with the China Coast Guard because we are utilizing women, who are naturally not aggressive, not confrontational," Coast Guard Spokesman Commodore Algier Ricafrente told AFP.