2 PCG ships are being pursued by the Chinese Coast Guard

A former US Air Force official claims that China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and militia pursued two Philippine ships on June 30 in a resupply mission.

While escorting a small boat from BRP Malabrigo to BRP Sierra Madre for resupply, PCG vessels BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua encountered “an armada” of militia men.

As soon as the CCG ships received resupply from the PCG ships, they pursued them eastward. After arriving from Scarborough Shoal, CCG 3103 retreated to China’s Mischief Reef military base. In a statement issued by the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, Raymond Powell said CCG 4203 has resumed its patrol of Sabina Shoal.

Several tweets from Powell suggested that the two CCG ships and seven militia ships were positioned to prevent the resupply mission from taking place at Ayungin Shoal.

Approximately 20-50 kilometers northwest of Mischief Reef, seven militia ships were on patrol, and another CCG vessel may have been nearby, Powell said.

Approximately 650 kilometers had been traveled from Scarborough Shoal by CCG 3103, Powell noted.

He noted that it was a tremendously long trip to help oppose two lightly armed 45-meter patrol vessels and some small boats doing a supply run.

Neither Rear Admiral Armand Balilo nor a spokesperson from the PCG can confirm if the incident occurred on June 30. “I don’t have any information,” he replied.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was violated by China, Powell said. There is a signed UNCLOS agreement between China and the United States.

Many incidents have occurred in the South China Sea this year that involve China as an aggressor. BRP Malapascua’s crew was temporarily blinded by a military-grade laser shot from a CCG vessel on February 6. During a near collision with another CCG vessel last April 23, the crew’s safety was seriously threatened.