Suspected China Coast Guard ship leaves Zambales uninspected

GONE NOW This dredging vessel seen in the waters off San Felipe town in Zambales is identified in a marine tracker as China Coast Guard 21543 but was nowhere to be seen when Philippine Coast Guard personnel arrived in the area on Tuesday. —Contributed photo

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) station in this province failed to inspect a dredging vessel that residents claimed was a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel, with body number 21543.

Commander Euphraim Jayson Diciano, head of the PCG Zambales station, said on Wednesday the only vessel present in the area when they arrived there on Tuesday afternoon was MV An Da Kang 3689, a dredger operated by China Harbour Engineering Co.

READ: Zambales folk opposed to dredging have another reason for alarm

However, residents of San Felipe town alleged that the PCG personnel were in the vicinity a day earlier but allowed the suspected CCG vessel to leave without conducting an inspection.

It was the residents opposed to the dredging activities in Zambales who raised an alert on Monday over the presence of the vessel that was identified by a marine tracker as a CCG ship.

But Diciano said the supposed CCG vessel was not in the area when they got there on Tuesday afternoon.

He said they were not even sure if the ship was actually in the area because when they tried to track CCG 21543 on Wednesday, it was seen to be in Guangzhou, China.

“This ship is now in Africa, suddenly (it) appeared in Zambales, then appeared in Ningbo, China. Now appear in South Africa. The AIS (Automatic Identification System) of this ship has problem,” said Diciano.

He said they only inspected MV An Da Kang 3689, noting it had previously exhibited suspicious activities, including deactivating its AIS, making unexplained route deviations and conducting offshore maneuvers near the American military deployments in Northern Luzon.

The PCG also noted the vessel’s “erratic behaviors” in the West Philippine Sea and unexplained transits near the Babuyan Channel.

PCG personnel in Zambales were only able to board and inspect the vessel at 5:55 p.m. on Tuesday since they had no floating asset and waited for the arrival of BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) and used its work boat to transport the inspection team to the MV An Da Kang.

Upon inspection, the vessel was found to have six Chinese crew members, all with valid licenses. No irregularities were identified, and the vessel was cleared to proceed to its next destination in Manila, said Diciano.

Calls to halt dredging activities in Zambales have intensified following a privileged speech by Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday, raising concerns about potential Chinese espionage disguised as dredging operations.

Threat to sovereignty

The dredging activities had been authorized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to clear the province’s waterways of tons of volcanic ash that continued to flow into its rivers since Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991.

Lawyer Chel Diokno, the first nominee of Akbayan Party list in next year’s elections, strongly condemned the ongoing dredging operations in the Sto. Tomas River, located at the boundary of San Narciso and San Felipe towns, citing its environmental impacts, threats to national sovereignty and allegations the activity is tainted with corruption.

The destruction of Zambales’ coastline is not just an environmental catastrophe—it is a betrayal of the Filipino people,” Diokno asserted.

He added: “The allegations of corruption, coupled with the weak action of regulatory agencies, is a grave injustice to the communities whose lives, livelihoods and natural heritage are being sacrificed.”