By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – The Philippine Navy’s Naval Defense Command (NDC) announced that one of its guided missile frigates, the BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-6), was reportedly scanned by a “fire control radar” (FCR) of a Chinese corvette in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on March 7.
“While underway at (the vicinity of) Sabina Shoal within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, Chinese PLA (People’s Liberation Army)-Navy ship with bow number 622 Jiangkai class corvette aimed its FCR towards BRP Miguel Malvar, exercising freedom of navigation and adhering to international law of order in the WPS,” the NDC said in a Facebook post Thursday night.
It added that China’s use of a targeting radar against a Philippine Navy vessel was an “alarming and escalatory act.”
The NDC said the behavior reflected a pattern of coercion that endangers lives, disrupts lawful operations, and challenges the sovereignty of coastal states.
The incident took place as the ship was steaming toward Naval Operating Base in Subic, Zambales after attending the 3rd International Fleet Review and Multilateral Navy Exercise, which took place Feb. 18 to 26 in India.
On its way to the port, the Filipino ship detected “emissions” coming from the Chinese corvette that indicated that it was targeting its FCR towards BRP Miguel Malvar.
It prompted the BRP Miguel Malvar to issue a radio challenge and told the Chinese ship to leave the area to avoid misunderstanding.
No other escalatory actions took place afterwards, although the Chinese corvette tailed BRP Miguel Malvar for a few hours before leaving. (PNA)
