The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported an incident of “close distance maneuvering” by a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel in the disputed South China Sea. The CCG said the ship “constrained” the movement of a Philippine ship sailing nearby.
The incident occurred during a Philippine maritime patrol operation around the are known as Bajo de Masinloc, the PCG said in a news release. It was yet unclear whether the Philippines had lodged a diplomatic protest for the incident. The PCG said it had to wait for the approval from the country’s National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea before making the incident public — it happened March 2, 2022.
The PCG said the incident was “a clear violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).” The Phillipines said this was the fourth such incident in less than a year.