MANILA (UPDATE) — The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said the Chinese Coast Guard's dangerous maneuvers against two Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea came as a surprise after the two countries' "preliminary understanding" in matters concerning the Ayungin Shoal.

NTF-WPS Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the incident happened while the Philippine ships, BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) were heading to Patag and Lawak Islands early Monday.

While they were not bound for Ayungin Shoal, NTF-WPS had believed a "preliminary understanding" with China would mean such incidents in the West Philippine Sea would not happen. 

"We are surprised, we are worried over what is happening kasi kakatapos pa lang noong, a month ago nagkaaroon tayo ng preliminary understanding with the People's Republic of China sa Ayungin Shoal," Malaya said in a public briefing.

"Wala po itong kinalaman sa Ayungin Shoal, ito ay may kinalaman sa another part of the West Philippine Sea. Ngunit akala namin iyong preliminary understanding sa Ayungin Shoal eh parang good will para naman sa ibang lugar sa West Philippine Sea, ay hindi na tayo masyado gawan ng dangerous maneuvers na ito, pero unfortunately mayroon tayo aerial incident over Bajo de Masinloc over a week ago, tapos ito naman mayroong paghaharang na nauwi sa damaged to two PCG vessels," he added.

Malaya reported that dangerous maneuvers from the Chinese Coast Guard off 23 nautical miles from Escoda Shoal resulted in a collision with PCG vessels, causing roles and dents in the Philippine ships.

"Nagkaroon ng 3 feet hole sa kanyang auxilliary room at another 1 foot dent sa kanyang starboard quarter," Malaya said, referring to BRP Bagacay.

"For BRP Cape Engano naman, 1.1-meter hole sa starboard side ng barko at 40 cm damage to the engine exhaust of the starboard quarter," he added.

"My impression would be China thought itong dalawang barko na ito ay papunta sa Teresa Magbanua para mag-resupply doon. Hindi po, ito ay papunta sa ibang lugar sa West Philippine Sea, nagkataon lang na andoon sa area na iyon itong mga barko ay papunta sa Patag at Lawak island para magdala ng supplies sa mga tropa natin doon. Dumaan lang 20 nautical miles from Escoda," he said.

PH MARITIME ZONES LAW

Meanwhile, The Senate has ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill 2492 and House Bill  7819 or the proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Law.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said the approval is timely considering the latest incident.

"Perhaps members of this chamber are already aware that two Philippine Coast Guard vessels were rammed, intentionally, with perhaps an intent to inflict harm and damage to the crew members. I'm speaking of BRP Bagacay, as well as BRP Cape Engaño,” Tolentino said.

“Mr. President, this just shows the lack of good faith, the lack of transparency of the People's Republic of China in dealing with the Philippines in the continuing annual Bilateral Consultative Meeting. I just raised that manifestation Mr. President, because this is very timely,” he added.

Once approved by the House of Representatives, the bill will be enrolled for President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s signature.

- With a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

Task force says 'aggressive' Chinese ships have damaged PCG patrol vessels