PCG Warns Against Propaganda Amid China’s Claims of Aid to Filipino Fishermen

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has cautioned against Chinese propaganda efforts following a maritime encounter where a Chinese naval vessel provided assistance to a Filipino fisherman off Zambales province.

The incident, which took place in waters within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), has become a point of diplomatic tension after the Chinese Embassy in Manila publicized the event on social media, claiming their navy had aided a stranded Filipino fisherman.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea national task force, disputed key elements of China’s account, emphasizing that the situation should not be exploited to distort territorial realities in the contested region.

“We hope this incident is not exploited as propaganda by China. Instead, it should serve as recognition that Filipino fishermen have full rights to fish in the waters around Bajo de Masinloc,” Tarriela stated, referencing the Filipino name for Scarborough Shoal, an area that has been a flashpoint in territorial disputes between the Philippines and China.

According to the Chinese Embassy’s Friday social media post, a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship provided food and water to a Philippine fishing boat allegedly stranded for three days with engine trouble. The embassy also claimed they had coordinated with the PCG for follow-up assistance.

However, Tarriela directly contradicted these assertions, noting that the PCG received no prior communication from Chinese naval authorities before the post was made public. He also rejected the claim that the fisherman had been adrift for three days.

“The fisherman was safely moored to a Floating Aggregate Device (FAD) or ‘payao’ and awaiting pickup by their mother boat. The claim that he had been adrift for three days is inaccurate,” Tarriela explained. He provided a timeline showing the service boat had departed for fishing on December 24 at approximately 3 p.m., and the fisherman was located by both the PCG and the mother boat the following afternoon—less than 24 hours later.

While acknowledging the PLAN’s humanitarian gesture of providing “a bottle of water and three packs of biscuits” to the fisherman, Tarriela highlighted the contrast between this action and what he described as “barbaric, illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions often employed by the China Coast Guard against Filipino fishermen.”

The PCG spokesperson also raised significant concerns about the presence of the Chinese vessel, identified as a Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer with bow number 174, operating within Philippine waters. According to coordinates provided by Tarriela (14°33.470’N, 118°52.120’E), the incident occurred approximately 71 nautical miles west of Silanguin Island, Zambales—well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile EEZ.

“The PLAN destroyer had no legitimate reason to operate within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” Tarriela asserted.

This incident occurs against a backdrop of escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea, where Chinese vessels have repeatedly challenged Philippine fishing and exploration activities. The PCG emphasized that this event should be viewed within the broader context of ongoing maritime disputes between the two nations.

The territorial conflicts in the South China Sea involve multiple claimants, including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan, though China’s expansive claims, demarcated by its “nine-dash line,” overlap significantly with the EEZs of these nations. A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated China’s claims, but Beijing has continued to reject this decision.

For Filipino fishermen who rely on these waters for their livelihoods, such territorial disputes represent not just geopolitical tensions but practical challenges to their daily operations in traditional fishing grounds.