JOLO, SULU (MindaNews / 03 February) – Three Navy vessels belonging to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sailed through the waters of Sulu Sea, the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) said on Monday.
The Chinese vessels were first spotted entering the country’s territorial waters in the vicinity of the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, February 2, and navigated through the Mindoro Strait towards Sulu Sea.
In a statement, WestMinCom chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete identified the Chinese Navy vessels as a Renhai Class Cruiser Guided Missile, a Jiankai Class Frigate II, and a Type 903 Fuchi Class Replenishment Oiler.
The PLA Navy vessels navigated through the international passages within the maritime domain of WestMinCom, he said, referring to the Sibutu Passage and the Basilan Strait.
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As archipelagic sea lanes of communications (ASLOCs), these passages allow the transit of vessels of other nation-states subject to their compliance to national and international laws and procedures governing transits and innocent passage, the statement said.
Nafarrete, however, noted that the PLA Navy vessels transited WestMinCom’s maritime jurisdiction “without prior diplomatic coordination,” which, according to him, was not in accordance with the principle of innocent passage.
“The vessels maintained unusually slow speed of four to five knots, (which was) not consistent with the principle of innocent passage,” the official said.
The principle of innocent passage requires continuous and expeditious passage and that the vessel should not linger in archipelagic waters longer than necessary, Nafarrete said.
The WestMinCom deployed two aircrafts belonging to the Philippine Air Force to ensure maritime security.
These include the C-208 and Nomad N22 aircrafts to monitor the passage of the PLA Navy vessels within the country’s territorial waters, Nafarrete said.
The Joint Task Force Poseidon, WestMinCom’s lead maritime security arm, also dispatched Navy vessels to challenge and shadow the PLA Navy vessels as they pass through the command’s area of responsibility.
Nafarrete said the task force merely acted on the report in accordance with the integrated rules of engagement and the joint maritime standard operating procedures of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The PLA Navy vessels invoked freedom of navigation and innocent passage, he said.
Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that passage is “innocent” so long as it does not threaten the peace, order, or security of the coastal state, which in this case is the Philippines.
Nafarrete assured the public that the AFP, as the protector of people and the state, is “always committed to secure the sovereignty of the state and the integrity of our national territory.”
He said that the littoral radars of the Philippine Navy are continuously tracking the movement of the PLA Navy vessels. (Frencie L. Carreon / MindaNews)
