MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) arrested 10 Chinese nationals on board a ship in waters off Camiguin Island in Mindanao, following a chase Wednesday night, May 25.
The monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) vessels of the PCG went after the Chinese vessel, which allegedly hit the rear of MCS 3010 and tried to escape.
MCS 3010 then sought assistance from MCS 3007 at around 8 pm.
"At first, we thought it was a local vessel because it was marked with Subic and was flying a Philippine flag, but it was found to be manned by Chinese crew," said Captain Allen Toribio, commanding officer of MCS 3007. "They pretended that they were aboard a locally registered vessel to avoid suspicion."
The two Philippine vessels were able to corner the Chinese ship, where PCG personnel found endangered black corals.
The PCG will sue the arrested Chinese nationals for poaching.
Lieutenant Jeffrey Collado, who was on board MCS 3010, also said there were two other Chinese ships in the area, but they managed to escape. – Rappler.com