Chinese ships head to Panatag Shoal ahead of civilian Atin Ito voyage
MANILA, Philippines – The “largest blockade” of Chinese vessels is en route to Panatag Shoal (also known as Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) in the West Philippine Sea, ahead of a civilian mission to the area, said an expert and observer of maritime movements in the region on Monday, May 13.
Raymond Powell, a retired United States air force colonel who leads Project Myoushu at Stanford University, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that China was “sending a huge force to blockade Scarborough Shoal.” Within a day of his post, said Powell, over four China Coast Guard vessels and 25 of its maritime militia ships would be in the vicinity of the shoal.
“This will be by far the largest blockade I’ll have ever tracked at Scarborough. China seems determined to aggressively enforce its claim over the shoal,” he said.
Panatag or Scarborough Shoal is a high-tide elevation located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone west of Zambales province. No nation can claim sovereignty over it, although China has controlled the area since 2012 after a standoff with the Philippines.
Atin Ito, a coalition of civic and fisherfolk and farmer groups, will be heading to the shoal on Tuesday, May 14, bringing supplies to fisherfolk in the area. Just three weeks prior, China Coast Guard ships used water cannons against Philippine government vessels that were trying to do the same thing – bring fuel and supplies to small-scale Filipino fisherfolk.
In a statement, the coalition said they were undeterred: “We strongly affirm that our upcoming civilian supply mission to the West Philippine Sea is a legitimate exercise of Filipino citizens’ right to movement within our own territory. Our mission is peaceful, based on international law and aimed at asserting our sovereign rights. The reported heavy presence of Chinese marine vessels in Bajo de Masinloc is lamentable, but not surprising. It only underscores the urgency of civilianizing the area in response to China’s militarization.”
It added: “China’s actions are failing to intimidate Filipinos. Instead, they are only uniting us and inspiring us to go further in defending our rights. Atin Ito shall press forward with our peaceful voyage undeterred by any intimidation. We will sail with determination, not provocation, to civilianize the region and safeguard our territorial integrity.”
The group, which tried a mission to Ayungin Shoal (also called the Second Thomas Shoal) west of Palawan back in December 2023, has long been advocating to allow civilian sails into the West Philippine Sea.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, despite a 2016 Arbitral Ruling that invalidated its claim.
Panatag Shoal, according to the ruling, is traditional fishing grounds of Filipino, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese fisherfolk. That means small-scale fishing should be allowed in the vicinity of the shoal and within its lagoon.
China regularly bars fisherfolk from entering the shoal’s lagoon. Chinese forces put particular effort into barring Philippine government ships even from entering the 12 nautical mile territorial waters of the shoal.
The late April 2024 mission saw Philippine government vessels approach the closest they have in a while to the opening of the shoal. – Rappler.com