Philippine Coastguard News

China's coastguard said it had taken measures against Philippine vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea on Saturday, while the Philippines decried the moves, including the use of water cannons, as "irresponsible and provocative".China's actions led to "significant damage" and injury to personnel on a civilian boat hired to resupply troops, the Philippine task force on the South China Sea said in a statement.The incident occurred in the Second Thomas Shoal and Spratly Islands waters, according to the Chinese coastguard.

The crew of the Philippine coastguard boat watch anxiously as an imposing Chinese vessel draws near and cuts off its path, coming within a metre of collision in a vast stretch of open water in the South China Sea.The captain of the BRP Sindangan shuts off the engine and activates the reverse throttle. China's coastguard issues a warning via megaphone to leave as the Filipino crew watch closely on a radar that shows two vessels side by side."In accordance with international and Philippine national laws we are proceeding…

A cruise ship at the heart of Australia’s biggest coronavirus cluster arrived off the Philippines on Thursday to repatriate more than 200 crew, leaving behind weeks of outrage and acrimony over why symptomatic passengers were allowed to disembark.Just under a quarter of Australia’s 97 coronavirus deaths can be traced back to Carnival Corp’s Ruby Princess, which has been a flashpoint for anger in Australia and the focus of a criminal investigation after a spike in cases followed its March 19 arrival in Sydney.The 114,000-tonne, 19-deck ship reached Manila Bay on Thursday, joining a cluster of about a dozen other cruise ships that will be subjected to on-board testing for COVID-19 before any Filipino crew members can disembark.Reduced flights and travel bans due to the coronavirus…

On Saturday, June 9, the captain and crew of the Wallem-managed vessel the bulk carrier KSL Seoul rescued six fishermen after their boat was involved in an accident and subsequently capsized.The KSL Seoul was passing through the Mindoro Strait en route to Port Walcott in West Australia when they spotted the capsized fishing boat, the Sister Reds with six Filipino fishermen clinging onto its hull.The KSL Seoul immediately notified the Philippine coastguard and the local Maritime Rescue Coordinating Council (MRCC) and changed course to approach the boat.

Philippine fishing authorities said on Tuesday they had detained 25 Chinese crew of two seized fishing boats on suspicion of poaching, a move that could further strain ties between two countries at odds over maritime sovereignty. A joint team from the Philippine coastguard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) captured the Chinese vessels on Monday sailing without permits between waters off Babuyan Island and Batanes province in the northern Philippines. The Chinese vessels were in waters that are not part of the disputed South China Sea, which China claims almost entirely. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have conflicting claims.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may consider a request from the Philippines for large coastguard ships to patrol the disputed South China Sea, after the two allies reached a deal on defence equipment and technology. China has overlapping claims with Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines is the Southeast Asian nation most at odds with China over the South China Sea. Tokyo has no claims in the waterway, but worries about China's growing military reach into sea lanes through which much of Japan's ship-borne trade passes.

Taiwan's coastguard wants to improve cooperation with the Philippines and conduct joint search and rescue exercises despite tense standoffs in disputed waters in recent months, a senior coastguard official said on Thursday. The two sides have agreed to work toward joint exercises and have already held discussions on how to conduct rescue operations, Cheng Chang-hsiung, deputy minister of Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration, told Reuters in an interview. "Now we are moving toward exercises. This is the direction of our efforts. Both sides are making the effort," Cheng said. In late May and early June, Philippine and Taiwan coastguard ships faced off in disputed waters south of Taiwan to protect their fishing vessels and try to assert territorial rights.

'Task Force Tubbataha' is working closely with the US Navy & a Singapore salvage company to plan the wreck's removal. In a statement issued by the Philippine Coastguard, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya explained that part of the salvage plan is to use a crane with high lifting capacity for the vertical removal of the stranded ship instead of just dragging it to avoid incurring more damage to the reef. “They [US Navy, Philippine Navy and salvage company from Singapore] continued to secure top side of the ship…