Chinese ships and helicopter block Philippine raid on suspected dynamite fishers near Pag-asa Island

At around 07:20 local time, Philippine authorities responded to reports of blast fishing near Sandy Cays 2 and 3, west of Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea. The task force, comprising the Coast Guard, Navy, Marines and the PNP Maritime Group, deployed high-speed boats to intercept the suspected vessel. Within minutes, China Coast Guard ships 5102 and 21581 approached, sounded horns and radio-challenged the Philippine boats inside their territorial waters.

When the team ordered the fishing boat to stop, it ignored the commands and headed toward Subi (Zamora) Reef. The Chinese cutter shadowed and blocked the Philippine vessels, even coming within ten yards of a Coast Guard boat, while a PLA Navy helicopter made four passes overhead. For safety, the Philippine team ceased the chase and returned to Pag-asa. The incident was logged for diplomatic follow-up, with Manila asserting that the China Coast Guard has no law-enforcement authority in the area and labeling the helicopter fly-over an unnecessary act of intimidation.