RED FLAG The appearance of 鈥淐hinacoastguard21543鈥� in their marine tracker app has rattled residents who monitor dredging operations in San Felipe, Zambales. But the Philippine Coast Guard suspected it was probably just a glitch.鈥擟ontributed photo
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines 鈥� Residents of San Felipe town in this province were alarmed on Tuesday after seeing in a marine tracker what appeared to be a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel near a dredging site.
Locals who routinely monitor vessels operating in the Sto. Tomas River were taken aback upon detecting a vessel identified as a CCG ship with body No. 21543 approaching the area, according to Elezer Requirme, a resident and beach resort owner.
鈥淭here are currently four dredging vessels operating in the area, hauling sand and transporting it to a reclamation site in Manila Bay,鈥� Requirme said in a phone interview.
He said the vessel they saw appeared to be a CCG vessel on the tracker.
鈥淲hen we checked again, it disappeared from the tracker, as though its AIS (automatic identification system) had been turned off,鈥� Requirme said.
Requirme is among the residents who have been opposed to dredging operations in the province and a member of the group that monitors dredging vessels in Sto. Tomas using a marine tracker app.
Immediate inspection
Responding to their concerns, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel in Zambales immediately boarded all dredging vessels in the area for inspection.
Cmdr. Euphraim Jayson Diciano, chief of the PCG station in Zambales, assured residents that all vessels would be closely monitored, noting that their detection of a suspected CCG vessel may have been just due to a technical glitch.
鈥淲e have located the vessel of concern and it is currently in Guangzhou, China. It could not have been in San Felipe because if the AIS was turned off, the marine tracker would only display its last known position,鈥� Diciano explained in a phone interview.
Undocumented crew
The Zambales residents raised the matter a day after Sen. Risa Hontiveros also sounded the alarm over possible Chinese espionage using dredging operations as cover.
In a privilege speech on Monday, Hontiveros, the Senate deputy minority leader, cited a PCG report on the discovery of 13 undocumented Chinese nationals on the dredging vessel MV Harvest 89 in Mariveles, Bataan province, on Nov. 26.
鈥淭he PCG personnel were shocked that during a routine predeparture inspection to secure a Masters Declaration of Safe Departure, the crew members attempted to deny them entry,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he crew members told the PCG that their documentation was okay. Smelling a rat, our coast guards boarded the vessel where they discovered nine undocumented Chinese crew members, and when they searched deeper, they found four more, bringing the total to 13,鈥� the opposition senator added.
鈥楶LA鈥� uniform
What鈥檚 more shocking, Hontiveros said, was the discovery inside the vessel of a People鈥檚 Liberation Army uniform similar to what was found in illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs.
She noted that this was not the first time the PCG caught dredging vessels engaged in suspicious activities.
In May this year, the PCG also apprehended a vessel pretending to carry a Philippine flag when it was actually registered in Sierra Leone. Its crew members were all Chinese nationals, she said.
鈥淭he presence of undocumented Chinese nationals aboard a vessel engaged in such contentious operations is a chilling revelation. What were they doing there? Who permitted their entry? Were they acting as laborers, or, as some fear, engaging in activities of an intelligence-gathering nature?鈥� asked Hontiveros.
鈥淓spionage is not merely the stuff of spy novels. As we have sadly learned due to recent events, it is a clear and present danger in the modern geopolitical landscape. As Nica (National Intelligence Coordinating Agency) had said during our recently concluded Pogo hearings in which a Philippine mayor was confirmed by our intelligence apparatus to be an 鈥榓gent of influence,鈥� all regions of our country have been infiltrated by agents of the Chinese Communist Party,鈥� she added.
鈥楴asasalisihan tayo鈥�
Hontiveros was referring to Alice Guo, the dismissed mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, who is now detained and facing charges after being linked to an online gaming hub that was raided in her town.
鈥淲hen foreign nationals operate covertly in our territory, it compromises not only our security apparatus but also the trust of our citizens in the government鈥檚 ability to protect them,鈥� she said.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 scared of is that while we are busy with all that鈥檚 happening in our country, our enemies are creeping in (nasasalisihan tayo),鈥� she added.
In her speech, Hontiveros said the company behind the dredging activity in Bataan was the China state-run firm China Harbour Engineer Co. (CHEC) which was earlier blacklisted by the United States for its alleged role in the militarization of the South China Sea, as well as by the World Trade Organization for alleged corrupt practices.
Environmental damage
Hontiveros urged the Department of Justice, through the Bureau of Immigration, to investigate the undocumented persons aboard the vessels and review their Alien Employment Certificates issued by the Department of Labor and Employment.
She also asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to conduct an exhaustive assessment of the environmental damage caused by the dredging operations and hold responsible parties accountable.
Hontiveros said there should also be a review of all existing agreements that permit foreign entities to engage in resource extraction or related activities within Philippine waters to ensure that the agreements align not just with ecological preservation but also with national security.
She also urged the government to rescind contracts with blacklisted companies like the CHEC, which commit violations in Philippine waters.