MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) successfully evacuated a sick navy officer from BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on Thursday, despite aggressive disruption by China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels that delayed the mission by nearly 10 hours.
The patient was transferred from BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) to BRP Cabra and received initial medical treatment, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday.
AFP spokesman for the West Philippine Sea RAdm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said CCG vessels blocked, harassed, and fired water cannons at the Philippine vessel despite knowing a humanitarian medical evacuation was underway.
"We arrived in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal at a distance of nine nautical miles north when we were subjected to a water cannon attack by a China Coast Guard vessel," Trinidad told reporters.
"China used its maritime forces to obstruct the medical evacuation of our sick personnel despite being fully aware of the emergency," he added.
According to Trinidad, CCG vessel 5306 fired a water cannon at BRP Cabra from as close as 400 yards. While it was not a direct hit, the Chinese ship persistently executed dangerous maneuvers to force BRP Cabra away from Ayungin Shoal, which lies within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Demands and radio challenges
BRP Cabra radioed CCG 5306 to inform them of the emergency, explaining that the Philippine vessel needed to approach BRP Sierra Madre directly. Transporting the patient via rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) across longer distances was impossible due to fuel shortages caused by China’s earlier blockage of Manila’s Rotation and Resupply (RoRe) mission.
Instead of accommodating the medical request, Chinese forces insisted that only inflatable boats would be allowed to pass. They further claimed to have seen Philippine troops fishing nearby, arguing this indicated sufficient fuel reserves.
Trinidad said the Chinese forces ignored the emergency and threatened Manila with unspecified consequences.
"They never cared about the medical emergency. China's sole concern was blocking the evacuation," Trinidad said.
Persistent Harassment
To de-escalate, BRP Cabra attempted to launch RHIBs to reach BRP Sierra Madre, hoping Chinese vessels would focus solely on the main ship. However, Chinese forces deployed their own inflatable boats to intercept and harass the crew.
"Even after we launched inflatable boats, they continued to harass our personnel to prevent them from getting near BRP Sierra Madre," Trinidad said. "We arrived at 7:00 a.m., but the sick personnel wasn't transferred until 3:00 p.m."
The incident follows a blocked resupply mission weeks prior, where 15 Chinese vessels shadowed and intercepted Philippine troops 60 nautical miles off Ayungin Shoal. PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela confirmed that the earlier resupply mission had to be aborted due to safety concerns.
