Last month, a Chinese type 022 missile gunboat shadowed a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel while it was steaming to Hasa-Hasa Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese missile gunboat, one of the fastest vessels in the Chinese navy, had tailed the 30-meter multi-mission offshore vessel (MMOV) from Bulig Shoal, just 29 nautical miles south of Ayungin Shoal, where BRP Sierra Madre has been stuck since 1999, to Hasa-Hasa Shoal.
It was supposed to deliver fresh supplies to local fishermen gathered in Hasa-Hasa, a traditional fishing ground, the closest uninhabited feature in the West Philippine Sea to Palawan.
It surprised many security analysts when the Type 022 missile gunboat gave chase to a civilian BFAR vessel, the first time it happened in years.
Usually, Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels harassed and intimidated Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea.
Chinese navy vessels only lurk dozens of miles behind the militia and white ships but are ready to unleash their deadly payload if the Philippines decides to shoot first.
Security analysts said the Type 022 actions were sent to intimidate and threaten a civilian vessel.
They said it was disturbing that a gray ship would threaten a civilian vessel, violating the maritime rules of engagement.
Usually, a gray ship faces another gray boat, and a white ship confronts another white ship.
That was the same tactical blunder made by the Philippine Navy when it sent BRP Gregorio del Pilar, an ex-US Coast Guard cutter, to arrest Chinese fishermen poaching in Bajo de Masinloc in April 2012.
The Bajo de Masinloc incident precipitated a three-month stand-off, but China seized control of the strategic shoal after the United States intervened and brokered a deal for a simultaneous pullout.
The Philippines complied, but China did not, so more maritime law enforcement vessels were sent around the rocky outcrop to establish control.
From the start, the Philippines could have sent a Philippine Coast Guard vessel to make the arrest.
BRP Gregorio del Pilar sailed from Palawan to Bajo de Masinloc. A Coast Guard vessel could have been nearer in Manila Bay.
The April 2012 Bajo de Masinloc incident was a painful lesson for the Philippines, but China did learn from it, highlighting its gray-zone tactics.
China has been sending dozens of militia vessels around uninhabited features in the South China Sea, not only in the Philippine maritime zones or the West Philippine Sea.
This was in response to growing freedom of navigation operations conducted by the US Navy and its allies and partners from Australia, Canada, India, Japan, and Western European powers — the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
There were times when the US and other allied navies sailed within the 12 nautical miles of territorial waters in the
Chinese-occupied features in the Paracels and Spratlys.
China resorted to gray-zone tactics as an asymmetrical approach to counter the US and Western countries’ much superior naval power.
But as China gained strength, rising as the world’s largest navy, it also flexed its muscles, showing its teeth to weaker neighbors like Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Last week’s Hasa-Hasa Shoal incident may indicate that China has started to shift tactics, abandoning its gray-zone tactics and matching the US and Western allies’ naval power.
China has gained enough confidence to challenge the US in waters in the Indo-Pacific region.
By intimidating the BFAR-MMOV, China was flaunting its naval superiority.
However, it was not the first time China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) was involved in harassing Philippine vessels.
Some years back, a Chinese warship had locked its firing system on a Philippine corvette, an ex-Pohang-class vessel from South Korea.
Two Chinese navy vessels were also involved in the harassment of civilian boats sent to resupply Philippine-occupied features.
China’s response to employ its navy could also be a reaction to increasing multinational cooperative activities in the West Philippine Sea.
This year, there were four international cooperative activities
among Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the US.
One of the latest Philippine-led naval drills coincided with joint air and naval exercises in Scarborough Shoal.
Two Chinese Navy vessels shadowed the multinational cooperative activities.
It’s worth watching if China’s tactics in the South China Sea will change after the Hasa-Hasa incident on Sept. 27. Manny Mogato
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