The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has not been told to tone down its “assertive transparency strategy” to counter Beijing’s grey-zone tactics in the South China Sea, a senior PCG official said, a month after both countries agreed to resolve any incident in the area through diplomacy.
“We will continue [with the strategy],” PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela said at a forum in Manila on Tuesday.
Tarriela, who is the advisor to the Philippine coastguard commandant for maritime security, credited the strategy with raising awareness among people from various countries about China’s encroachment into Philippine territorial waters.
He was speaking at the forum sponsored by Stratbase ADR Institute, a Philippine research organisation, and Australian Aid, Canberra’s international aid agency.
The assertive transparency strategy involves embedding foreign and local media during PCG’s missions to Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal, where Chinese fishermen, coastguard and navy ships had blocked and hosed down Philippine vessels in several incidents in the past year. PCG also releases information about the incidents online.
Such Chinese transgressions are referred to as grey-zone actions to underscore Beijing’s territorial claims without engaging in open warfare.
Tarriela’s comments came after officials from the Philippines and China attended the 8th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea in Shanghai on January 17. The talks were aimed at reducing tensions and facilitating bilateral communications over the contested waters.
He said that PCG had not been told to change its assertive transparency strategy following the January 17 meeting.
