Chinese frigates cross bow, tail Philippine vessel in Bajo de Masinloc | ABS-CBN News

Описание: Two Chinese frigates conducted more dangerous maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea after crossing the bow and tailing the BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35) last Monday, May 5.
Video provided by the BRP Emilio Jacinto showed the Chinese PLA-Navy's Jiangkai II-class frigate (Type 054A) with BN 573 ignoring radio warnings and crossing the bow of the Philippine vessel approximately 11.8 nautical miles southeast off Bajo de Masinloc.
A second video showed another Chinese frigate with with BN 554 tailing the BRP Emilio Jacinto.
Armed Forces Public Affairs Office chief Xerxes Trinidad said the Chinese frigate BN 554 tailed PS35 at close range, while BN 573 dangerously crossed its bow “in a high-risk maneuver that created the danger of collision.”
A China Coast Guard vessel 5403 also attempted to obstruct PS35’s navigational path, Trinidad said.
The Armed Forces official said these “reckless actions not only posed a direct threat to the safety of navigation of PS35, but also violated the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.”
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines expresses its serious concern over these irresponsible actions by Chinese maritime forces. Such threatening and provocative conduct can lead to misunderstanding that may escalate tensions and impact regional stability,” he said in a statement.
Bajo de Masinloc is located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales and is well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Last month, a China Coast Guard vessel “dangerously blocked” a Philippine Coast Guard vessel during a maritime patrol near Bajo de Masinloc, according to PCG Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela.
Security think tank SeaLight earlier said China has increased its forces blocking Philippine access to Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal in the past 12 months.
Ray Powell, director of SeaLight and a former United States Air Force officer, said the organization’s ship tracking has observed more than double the number of individual China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia (CMM) automatic identification system (AIS) broadcasts around the shoal from May 2024 to April 2025, compared to the previous period.
From May 2023 to April 2024, SeaLight tracked 57 CCG and CMM ships producing around 724,000 AIS broadcasts near Bajo de Masinloc.
However, over the next 12 months, the “area of intense activity expanded dramatically” with 78 ships and 1,573,000 broadcasts.

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