Chinese corvette recently trained its weapons on Philippine frigate, officials confirm

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy has confirmed that an armed Chinese corvette engaged its fire control radar against a Philippine frigate this month, marking the latest escalation between the two nations in contested areas in the South China Sea.

The guided missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar was conducting a routine sovereignty patrol near Sabina Shoal, located 75 nautical miles from Palawan province, on March 7 when a People’s Liberation Army-Navy vessel with bow number 622 directed its sensor toward the Philippine ship.

“In accordance with standard procedures, the Philippine Navy immediately issued a radio challenge, prompting the PLA-Navy vessel to deactivate its radar and reduce tensions,” the sea service said in a statement.

Philippine military chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Japan-Philippines conference organized by the Manila-based Stratbase ADR Institute think tank on Tuesday, said: “Our sailors responded appropriately by challenging the actions of the Chinese vessel.”

“China’s conduct is comparable to aiming a firearm at a person, and we addressed them directly for this behavior. After we challenged them, they stopped,” Brawner said.

This recent confrontation is the latest episode in a long-running conflict in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, which China claims in its entirety. Chinese ships loitering in the West Philippines Sea have used water cannons, pointed lasers, and engaged in dangerous maneuvers to block resupply missions and impede fisherfolk access to fishing grounds in the area.

The radar lock incident is not the first time China has directed its systems against Philippine ships. In 2020, a PLA Navy ship with bow number 514 targeted BRP Conrado Yap, an anti-submarine corvette, with its gun control director in the Spratly Islands.

BRP Conrado Yap was not equipped with electronic capabilities to accurately verify the Chinese vessel’s actions, but officials told Defense News the 2020 incident underscored that the government’s pro-China policy at the time will not shield vessels from coercive in the South China Sea.

“We have to understand Chinese warfighting thought, which is to force us to fire the first shot, to force us to escalate the situation,” Navy inspector general Rear. Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters during a military press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

He stated that the navy will continue to act with restraint and respond only within the bounds of international law.

Tokyo and Beijing had earlier traded barbs over a similar incident in December last year, when Japanese minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Chinese fighter jets directed their fire-control radar against Japanese F-15 jets in two separate incidents near Okinawa.

Leilani Chavez is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. Her reporting expertise is in East Asian politics, development projects, environmental issues and security.

菲律宾马尼拉——菲律宾海军证实，本月一艘中国武装护卫舰用其火控雷达攻击了一艘菲律宾护卫舰，这标志着两国在南海争议地区的最新冲突升级。

3月7日，菲律宾海军导弹护卫舰“米格尔·马尔瓦尔”号在距离巴拉望省75海里的萨比纳浅滩附近进行例行主权巡逻时，一艘编号为622的中国人民解放军海军舰艇将其传感器对准了这艘菲律宾军舰。

菲律宾海军在一份声明中表示：“按照标准程序，菲律宾海军立即发出无线电质询，促使解放军海军舰艇关闭雷达，从而缓解紧张局势。”

菲律宾军方参谋长罗密欧·布劳纳将军周二在马尼拉智库 Stratbase ADR 研究所组织的日本-菲律宾会议间隙对记者说：“我们的水兵对中国船只的行为提出了质疑，做出了适当的回应。”

布劳纳说：“中国的行为就好比用枪指着人，我们直接就这种行为与他们进行了交涉。在我们发出警告后，他们就停止了。”

此次冲突是中方在世界最繁忙航道之一——菲律宾海域长期冲突的最新进展，中国声称对该海域拥有全部主权。中国船只在菲律宾海西部徘徊，使用水炮、激光照射等手段，并进行危险机动，以阻挠补给任务，妨碍渔民进入该海域捕鱼。

此次雷达锁定事件并非中国首次将其系统对准菲律宾舰船。2020年，一艘编号为514的解放军海军舰艇在南沙群岛附近海域，利用其火控指挥仪锁定了菲律宾反潜护卫舰“康拉多·亚普”号。

BRP Conrado Yap号没有配备电子设备来准确验证中国船只的行动，但官员告诉《防务新闻》，2020年的这起事件凸显了当时政府的亲华政策并不能保护船只免受南海的胁迫。

“我们必须了解中国的战争思维，那就是迫使我们先开枪，迫使我们升级局势，”海军监察长罗伊·文森特·特立尼达少将周二在阿吉纳尔多营地举行的军事新闻发布会上告诉记者。

他表示，海军将继续保持克制，并在国际法范围内作出回应。

东京和北京此前曾就去年 12 月发生的类似事件互相指责，当时日本大臣小泉进次郎表示，中国战斗机在冲绳附近的两起独立事件中用火控雷达瞄准了日本 F-15 战斗机。

莱拉尼·查韦斯是《防务新闻》的亚洲记者。她的报道专长是东亚政治、发展项目、环境问题和安全。