Philippines Says Chinese Vessels Blocked Patrol Near Thitu Island

October 4, 2026 at 02:28 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The Philippine Coast Guard said on Sunday Chinese vessels obstructed a law enforcement operation against a suspected dynamite fishing vessel near Thitu Island in the South China Sea. The operation involved personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard, Navy, and National Police Maritime Group. The Philippine team ended the pursuit for safety reasons and returned to Thitu.

Key Facts

The Philippine Coast Guard said two China Coast Guard vessels sounded their horns, radio-challenged the Philippine team, and later shadowed and blocked its boats.
A People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter circled above the Philippine personnel four times, which the Philippine Coast Guard described as an 'unnecessary act of intimidation'.
The operation targeted a foreign fishing vessel suspected of dynamite fishing near Sandy Cays 2 and 3, about three nautical miles west of Thitu Island, known in the Philippines as Pag-asa.
The Philippine team ordered the foreign fishing vessel to stop and radioed it several times, but the vessel ignored the orders and sailed southwest toward Subi Reef.

The Incident

The Philippine Coast Guard said on Sunday Chinese vessels obstructed a Philippine law enforcement operation against a foreign fishing vessel suspected of dynamite fishing near the Manila-held Thitu Island in the South China Sea. The operation involved personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, and Philippine National Police Maritime Group responding to a report of suspected blast fishing near Sandy Cays 2 and 3, about three nautical miles west of Thitu Island. The PCG said two China Coast Guard vessels sounded their horns, radio-challenged the Philippine team, and later shadowed and blocked its boats. A People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter also circled above the Philippine personnel four times.

Pursuit and Withdrawal

The Philippine team ordered the foreign fishing vessel to stop and radioed it several times, but the vessel ignored the orders and sailed southwest toward Subi Reef, one of seven artificial islands China has built in the Spratlys to support its sovereignty claims. Philippine authorities ended the pursuit for safety reasons and returned to Thitu. The Philippine Coast Guard described the presence of the Chinese navy helicopter as an 'unnecessary act of intimidation'.