Gunfight on the High Seas
MANILA, Feb 12, 1996 – Philippine President Fidel Ramos on Sunday commended the Philippine Navy(PN) for capturing a HuangFeng Fast Attack Craft of the Chinese Navy in Philippine territorial waters after
a brief exchange of gunfire last Saturday morning.
The President issued the commendation after he was briefed on the incident by Philippine Navy(PN) Capt. Ernesto H. de Leon inside Fort Bonifacio in Makati City.
Captain de Leon was the skipper of the corvette, BRP Pangasinan, one of the Philippine Navy vessels which intercepted the Chinese vessel
between Tabones Island and Los Frailes, north of the entrance of Subic Bay, some 100 kilometers northwest of Manila.
The incident followed the sinking of a "pirate" Chinese naval vessel 120km off the Philippine capital in a gun battle last month between 2
chinese boats and a Philippine Navy Halter Marine 78-footer patrol boat .
Another Chinese boat was able to escape to international waters because the PN
Halter Marine patrol boat run out of ammo.
Military officials said the three boats, HuangFeng fast attack crafts(FAC), flying the Chinese flag, were operating from naval bases in
southern China, including Shantou, Kityung and Senwei.
Capt. De Leon said the Chinese vessel tried to ram a Philippine Navy patrol boat, the PG 110,a Philippine Navy Patrol Killer Medium(PKM) patrol
boat which intercepted and warned the intruding seacraft that it was sailing in Philippine territorial waters.
"When the chinese vessel attempted to ram PG 110 head-on, the PG110 gave warning shots using M-16 rifle at a distance of about 700 yards. Instead of stopping, the foreign vessel returned fire using an AK-47
assault rifle," De Leon narrated.
Two other Philippine Navy patrol craft responded to the emergency encounter, intercepting the speeding chinese FAC patrol boat near the north entrance to Subic Bay and was forced into anchorage after the BRP
Pangasinan fired 20mm cannon warning fire.
"We forced them into the anchorage and we boarded the boat, and arrested 20 Chinese pirates " de Leon said.
"The vessel does not fly any flag of registry," PN
Vice-Admiral Carranza told reporters, adding that among those found inside
the foreign vessel were several seamen's books bearing the Chinese "Red Star" insignia,
identification cards that do not match the bearers,and log books filled with characters similar to Chinese.
The boat and the crew, suspected to be pirates, are temporarily detained at the Navy Headquarters on Roxas Boulevard.
The Chinese government denied knowledge of the incident, but Philippine officials think, these are "rogue" Chinese naval gunboats either
moonlighting as pirates or on spying missions. Officials say the clash, which took place 35km from the Subic Bay Freeport, the former US
naval base now the Philippines' fastest growing special economic zone, was the latest
in a series of run-ins with clearly identified Chinese naval
boats.