Philippine coast guard boosts presence in South China Sea

From Rappler (Feb 6, 2023): Philippine coast guard boosts presence in South China Sea

'We can stay there longer, farther and we can we can cover a bigger area now (in the West Philippine Sea),' says Admiral Artemio Abu, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard has stepped up its presence in the disputed South China Sea by deploying additional vessels and conducting more sorties and overflights to protect maritime territory and the country’s fishermen, its chief said on Monday, February 6.

Beijing’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the waterway have drawn repeated complaints from Manila, which has ramped up its rhetoric against reported Chinese construction activities and the “swarming” of Chinese vessels in the resource-rich waterway.

“We’re making sure that the presence of coast guard vessels is felt by the fishermen in the area,” Admiral Artemio Abu, Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), said in an interview.

Last month, PCG said it received a report that a Filipino fishing boat was forced by China’s coast guard to leave the Second Thomas Shoal, known locally as Ayungin Shoal, which lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/philippine-coast-guard-boosts-presence-in-south-china-sea/