Signal jamming affecting Philippine shipping in China-claimed waters amounts to "electronic warfare", a navy spokesman has claimed.
The disputed zone of what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea lies in an area of the energy-rich South China Sea within the U.S. defense treaty ally's internationally recognized exclusive economic zone.
The Southeast Asian country's coast guard said there have been "instances" over the past month when the automatic identification signals (AIS) of its ships and those of the Philippine fisheries bureau were jammed, temporarily preventing them from broadcasting their position.
"I would say probably—I'm not an IT expert—but this could already be a form of electronic warfare," Commodore Vincent Trinidad, spokesperson for the Philippines Navy's West Philippine Sea command, told local media Wednesday.
These latest incidents occurred while the coast guard ships were patrolling the disputed waters in support of fishermen close to the submerged reef, Second Thomas Shoal. The Chinese coast guard often expels Philippine boats from the traditional fishing ground, which lies about 120 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province and nearly 600 from Chinese shores.
"The electronic interference affecting Filipino ships in the West Philippine Sea is worrisome," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told reporters Wednesday, adding that his coast guards would not be deterred.
"We will continue to do it because that is our job. Our job is to help the fishermen who have been fishing there for a long time, several generations," he said.
Trinidad told Newsweek in a phone call that navy crews had been reporting the alleged jamming for at least three to four years and that typically occurs as the navy rotates its ships in contested waters. "It's become like a normal thing, you know," he said.
He pointed out the navy has back-up systems in place that mitigate the safety risk of momentary AIS lapses.
Trinidad said he was not prepared to call out China as the source for the disruption "without having the forensic proof."
Responding to Philippine concern over the Chinese navy and coast guard presence at Scarborough Shoal, a barren rock about 120 miles west of the island of Luzon, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: "We express grave concern over the Philippines' recent activities in the South China Sea that infringe on China's sovereignty and will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable."
China claims sovereignty over the atoll, like most of the sea, as its territory, citing unspecified historical rights. Beijing continues to disregard an international arbitral court's 2016 ruling that largely sided with the Philippines and dismissed Chinese claims.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
