Lone PH Coast Guard ship confronts 22 Chinese vessels in West PH Sea

A lone Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship faced 22 Chinese vessels in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Friday, Sept. 19.

- By MARTIN SADONGDONG

According to a WPS monitor, BRP Cabra was patrolling the shoal located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, when it was met by an "armada" of Chinese vessels.

China had previously announced plans to put up a nature reserve at Bajo de Masinloc.

"[T]he Philippines Coast Guard's 44-meter patrol vessel BRP Cabra faces off alone against an armada of at least eight China Coast Guard [ships] and 14 maritime militia sent out to guard China's newly designated 'nature preserve' at Scarborough Shoal," said Ray Powell, founder and director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency project under the Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

The PCG has yet to issue further details about the patrol.