PCG: Chinese vessels swarming Julian Felipe Reef

CNN Philippines

The Philippine Coast Guard observes a swarm of Chinese maritime militia vessels near the Julian Felipe Reef.  We learn more from Tristan Nodalo, who recently joined a five-day journey to the Kalayaan group of islands.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea expresses alarm over the continuing presence

00:06 of Chinese maritime militia vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef.

00:10 In the latest maritime patrol of the Philippine Coast Guard this weekend, the militia vessels

00:14 were seen swarming the reef, dispersed and scattered.

00:17 The Julian Felipe Reef is located 175 nautical miles or 324 kilometers west of Bataraza Town

00:25 in Palawan.

00:26 It lies within the territorial sea of the Calayaan Island Group and the Philippines

00:29 asserts authority over it, claiming sovereignty.

00:33 What is more interesting is that even if we challenged them through radio, none of those

00:39 vessels ever responded to our radio calls.

00:46 CNN Philippines joined a five-day backbreaking journey to the Calayaan Group of Islands as

00:51 the PCG inaugurates a new Coast Guard station on Pagasa and conducts its routine rotation

00:57 and resupply mission in other islands.

01:00 First stop, Pagasa.

01:01 Aboard the BRP Cabra, we immediately saw a Chinese Coast Guard ship in the vicinity of

01:06 the island.

01:07 A Chinese Navy vessel and militia vessels were also monitored.

01:12 From Pagasa, we went to another occupied feature in the island group called Likas.

01:17 The 18-hectare land is a giant sea turtle sanctuary.

01:23 So after 16 hours, we've finally reached Likas, one of the Philippine occupied features in

01:28 the Calayaan Island Group.

01:30 There's an ongoing resupply mission for the troops who are currently in Likas and after

01:34 this we'll travel four to five hours more to reach two more features, Patag and Lawak.

01:41 Big vessels like the BRP Cabra couldn't go near the island and the supplies need to be

01:46 transported by rubber boat or a rigid-hull inflatable boat or RIB.

01:50 Rough waves and changing weather conditions also made the journey more challenging.

01:55 We finally reached Patag Island.

01:57 This time I met Coast Guard Arnel Almazan who just wrapped up his duty on Patag.

02:02 It's a pleasure to serve our country and to guard our territory.

02:09 It's hard to survive in the water.

02:16 When there's no water, we're left with nothing.

02:22 If Arnel is finally on his way home, Fritz Jebbert is just starting his duty on Lawak

02:27 Island.

02:28 He admits it's difficult to be far away from his family during the holidays but he says

02:32 it's all part of the job.

02:34 We talked to our families and they said this is how we serve.

02:39 It's not always fun, sometimes it's sad.

02:42 We do this not only for ourselves but for our family and for the whole country.

02:49 The resupply mission on Lawak Island lasted until the evening.

02:55 Throughout the course of our trip, there were several radio challenges.

02:59 The NPFWPS vows that like Pag-asa Island, the government will continue to improve conditions

03:04 on the other occupied features in the Kalayaan group of islands.

03:08 Tristan Nudalo, CNN Philippines, Kalayaan.

03:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended