Duterte-era memories of PH-China coast guard cooperation

Recently, China’s ambassador to the Philippines, Jing Quan, disclosed that the text of a cooperation agreement between the Philippine and China coast guards was “95% complete.” He said in a talk before the Rotary Club of Manila on March 19 that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) could be finalized during the next round of dialogue, apparently referring to the bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) that just took place the last week of March in Quanzhou.

Quan added that both coast guards should cooperate in search and rescue operations, environment protection, and trash collection.

This MOU is surprising. After all, relations between the two coast guards have been tense and rough. Several skirmishes have taken place, with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) at the receiving end of harassment from the China Coast Guard (CCG) during the former’s patrols in the West Philippine Sea.

While there have been back-and-forth talks between Manila and Beijing on improving communication between the PCG and CCG since 2024, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which is leading the effort, has not made any details public.

After the latest BCM, neither side announced a finalized MOU despite Quan’s optimism about an expansive agreement.

‘Formalizing communication’

The DFA issued a statement to provide some background and clarify misconceptions days after the Chinese ambassador’s announcement:

“The PCG and CCG entered into an MOU on the establishment of a Joint Coast Guard Committee for Maritime Cooperation in 2016. Since 2024, both parties have been engaged in discussions to amend and update the agreement. The proposed amendments are limited in scope. They are focused on re-establishing the Joint Coast Guard Committee for Maritime Cooperation, which is intended to serve as a formalized channel of communication between the two coast guards. The MOU does not contemplate cooperation in sensitive operational areas, joint patrols foremost among them.

The negotiations have been conducted through proper diplomatic channels and are not confined to BCM meetings. They have been duly reported to, and are known by all relevant principals — including the National Security Adviser in his capacity as NTF-WPS chair, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the PCG commandant.”

I texted a query to Rogelio Villanueva Jr., DFA spokesperson on maritime affairs, on what the MOU required from both sides. His terse reply: “MOU focuses on formalizing communication mechanisms between PCG and CCG. Details are still under discussion.”

Duterte-era memories

I am wary of an agreement that would reprise the 2016 MOU sealed during then-president Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing. It brings back jarring memories.

The most vivid is the first official goodwill ship visit of the CCG in January 2020. It laid anchor at the Port of Manila and, lo and behold, a marching band welcomed Major General Wang Zhongcai, the CCG chief, as he disembarked from the ship.

Upon arrival at the PCG headquarters, Zhongcai, accompanied by Vice Admiral Joel Garcia, then PCG commandant, reviewed ceremonial honor guards, walking on a red carpet. This was unprecedented.

After the arrival honors, the CCG head welcomed a PCG contingent led by Garcia during a cross-deck visit aboard the CCG vessel. Following this, the first joint drill between the two coast guards took place in waters off Manila. This aimed to achieve interoperability at sea.

Garcia was heavily criticized for laying down the red carpet for the force that harassed Filipino fishermen, choking their source of livelihood. This was the same force that put our coast guard in peril.

The PCG was supposed to do a reciprocal visit in Fujian months later, in May 2020, but the pandemic broke off this plan. Garcia’s successor at the PCG didn’t continue any form of cooperation with the CCG. It was under the Marcos administration when the PCG took a big stride away from Garcia’s courtship of China and surged into the frontlines in the West Philippine Sea.

Face-to-face meetings

Other firsts happened because of the 2016 MOU:

• After a face-to-face meeting in December 2016, Chinese and Philippine coast guard officials issued a joint statement on possible areas of cooperation, including fighting drug trafficking and other maritime crimes, environmental protection, and search and rescue operations, similar to what Ambassador Quan said.
• In February 2017, the inaugural meeting of the two coast guards took place in Subic to form the Joint Coast Guard Committee for Maritime Cooperation. It was meant to implement the MOU and to enhance cooperation to address maritime emergency incidents, humanitarian concerns, and environmental issues. On the operational level, a hotline mechanism was established.

Hotline and joint committee redux

But only one thing was left in the cooperation agreement: the hotline. It was a solitary remnant of what was hyped as a confidence-building measure meant to bridge the gap between the two coast guards — one belonged to an aggressive hegemon whose claims to the South China Sea an international arbitration court declared illegal, and the other, which has international law on its side.

It is unclear if the hotline worked during the Duterte administration. However, an incident in August 2023, when the CCG water-cannoned and blocked our coast guard en route to a resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal, showed that the hotline was dead.

The DFA filed a formal protest with the Chinese embassy and “expressed disappointment” over not immediately reaching its Chinese counterpart. The DFA tried the hotline for several hours while the incident was occurring but there was no response. Since then, the hotline ceased to be a communication mechanism for both sides.

It is likely that the hotline will be revived, a basic communication channel, as well as the Joint Coast Guard Committee for Maritime Cooperation. Questions remain: How will it differ from the Duterte-era joint committee? What activities will it cover?

Our negotiators, I trust, are armed with lessons from the past.

What do you think? Email me at marites.vitug@rappler.com.

Till next newsletter!