(UPDATE) THE civilian ship MV Kapitan Felix Oca has emerged as the unexpected spearhead of the Atin Ito coalition’s latest mission to the contested waters of Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, pressing forward under the close watch and aggressive shadowing of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels.
On Tuesday morning, the Felix Oca, carrying a diverse mix of Filipino volunteers, artists, and media representatives, surged through choppy seas in the West Philippine Sea while two CCG ships, identified as CCG 3306 and CCG 21549, lurked just 6 to 8 nautical miles away.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), which had dispatched BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Malapascua to safeguard the convoy, confirmed the tense maritime face-off.
The CCG ships issued repeated radio challenges, declaring: “According to China’s domestic law and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, China has undisputed sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea. China neither accepts nor recognizes [the 2016 arbitral ruling].”
That ruling, handed down by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, invalidated China’s sweeping maritime claims — yet Beijing has consistently ignored it, continuing to assert near-total control over the South China Sea, including the waters off Pag-asa.
HARASSMENT One of the Chinese vessels that shadowed the Philippine ship. PCG PHOTO
This encounter marks a dramatic shift in the West Philippine Sea’s ongoing tensions: civilian initiatives, not just state vessels, are now stepping into the fray. The Atin Ito coalition, whose name translates to This Is Ours, has framed its third civilian-led mission as a symbolic and logistical lifeline to the small Philippine garrison and residents on Pag-asa Island, part of the Kalayaan Island Group.
The coalition’s mission aims to deliver essential supplies — food, medicine, and fuel — along with a unique civilian message of solidarity: a musical concert staged right on the contested island.
“We are not just asserting territory. We are asserting that ordinary Filipinos have a stake here,” said Atin Ito spokesman Rafaela David in a pre-departure statement. “We will not be intimidated.”
According to a 3 p.m. update from the PCG, the CCG’s two shadowing vessels remained just 4 nautical miles from the civilian convoy, about 58 nautical miles west of El Nido in Palawan, which is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan confirmed that the Philippine vessels had challenged the CCG via radio, firmly asserting that the area lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile EEZ as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
“We are fully committed to ensuring the safety of all civilians on board the Felix Oca and supporting the peaceful assertion of our sovereign rights,” Gavan said in a statement.
In a briefing on Tuesday in Camp Aguinaldo, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad cited the presence of Chinese vessels near Subi Reef, an island transformed by China into a military facility.
“At any one time you would notice that there are a good number of maritime militia vessels and the Chinese Coast Guard. Atin Ito … started sailing early this morning. The last report from the group was that they were being tailed by two Chinese coast guard vessels,” Trinidad said.
However, he said the Philippine Navy and other government agencies in the maritime domain are prepared to respond at any time in support of the group’s concert at sea.
Since January, Manila has documented a rising pattern of CCG harassment: from shadowing and blocking to water cannon attacks on Philippine government vessels, incidents that the Marcos administration has denounced as illegal and escalatory.
But Tuesday’s confrontation shows Beijing’s assertiveness now extends beyond military and coast guard domains — directly challenging Philippine civil society’s right to operate in its own waters.
The Felix Oca and its convoy are expected to reach Pag-asa by Wednesday morning, May 28, barring further interference.
As night fell over the West Philippine Sea on Tuesday, the tense maritime choreography continued: Philippine civilians, government vessels, and Chinese patrol ships locked in a delicate dance of defiance and surveillance — each signaling, in its own way, how much is at stake in these contested waters.
The Atin Ito Coalition noted that Chinese and Philippine forces exchanged radio challenges during the mission.
