A Philippine boat convoy bearing supplies for Filipino fishers yesterday said that it was headed back to port, ditching plans to sail to a reef off the Southeast Asian country after one of their boats was “constantly shadowed” by a Chinese vessel.
The Atin Ito (“This Is Ours”) coalition convoy on Wednesday set sail to distribute fuel and food to fishers and assert Philippine rights in the disputed South China Sea.
“They will now proceed to the Subic fish port to mark the end of their successful mission,” the group said in a statement.
Photo: AFP
A Philippine Coast Guard vessel escorting the convoy was also returning to the same port, the agency said.
The convoy earlier learned from fishers on boats near Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) — which Taiwan also claims — via radio “that they had been chased away by the Chinese,” said Emman Hizon, spokesman for the non-government group.
However, its “advance team” distributed fuel and other assistance to fishers on Wednesday about 46km to 56km from the shoal, declaring “mission accomplished.”
The advance team boat, which returned to a Philippine port yesterday morning, was “able to distribute aid despite being constantly shadowed by a Chinese Navy vessel,” Hizon told reporters.
A reconnaissance flight saw 19 Chinese vessels, including a warship and eight coast guard vessels, around the shoal on Wednesday, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
It said the main contingent of the flotilla from the Philippines, comprising four wooden-hulled fishing boats, was still being tracked by nearby China Coast Guard vessels even as it sailed away from the shoal.
The shadowing began at dusk on Wednesday as the boats moved closer to the shoal, with the Chinese vessels issuing warnings that the participants heard on their radios.
Asked about the allegations that Chinese vessels drove off fishers, the Chinese embassy in Manila referred to a warning by a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman on Wednesday against any attempt to infringe on Beijing’s “indisputable sovereignty” over Scarborough Shoal.
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