MANILA, Philippines — The civilian training ship Felix Oca has become the unexpected frontliner in the Atin Ito coalition’s high-profile mission to Pag-asa Island, with two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels trailing behind to shield it from China’s aggressive maneuvers at sea.
On Tuesday morning, as the Felix Oca — packed with Filipino volunteers, artists, and media — pushed through choppy waters in the West Philippine Sea, two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels had been sighted just 6 and 8 nautical miles away, shadowing the Philippine civilian ship, according to reports by the PCG..
The CCG soon issued a sharp radio challenge, repeating Beijing’s hardline claim: “According to China’s domestic law and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, China has indisputed sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea… China neither accepts nor recognizes [the 2016 arbitral ruling].” Atin Ito’s third civilian-led supply and solidarity mission aims to deliver essential goods and symbolic support to Filipino residents and troops on Pag-asa, a remote island at the heart of the West Philippine Sea disputes. The civilian ship is expected to reach the area by Wednesday morning, May 28.
Since January, Philippine security agencies have tracked increasingly assertive CCG activities, including shadowing, blocking, and using water cannons against Philippine ships within the country’s exclusive economic zone — actions Manila calls “unlawful” under international law, particularly after the 2016 Hague ruling that invalidated China’s vast maritime claims.
Beijing, however, has never recognized the ruling, continuing to assert sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including the waters around Pag-asa Island.
