The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is investigating alleged “suspicious” activities of Chinese dredgers operating in the Manila Bay raised and brought to light by the National Coast Watch Center (NCWC), an inter-agency maritime surveillance and coordination unit.
“Based on the special report of NCWC, several foreign vessels were allegedly engaged on suspicious activities and were observed to be operating outside their approved areas of operation as against the issued special permit by Marina,” the agency said in a report.
In that report, the NCWC said the Chinese dredgers operated without a dredging clearance from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB).
The NCWC also said the Chinese dredgers operate without a memorandum of agreement with the DENR and the dredging firm has no accreditation from the DENR-MGB.
“The NCWC also asserted that the Chinese dredgers allegedly failed to secure a ‘No Objection Clearance’ from the Office of the National Security Adviser,” the Marina said.
Another violation flagged by the NCWC pertains to the dredgers operating without the required automatic identification system (AIS) that allows the authorities to properly monitor and record their exact movements inside Philippine territorial waters, by turning the machine off during operation and while berthed.
The NCWC Special Report had been endorsed by Malacanang through Deputy Executive Secretary for General Administration Naealla Bainto Aguinaldo way back November 29, 2022 for appropriate MARINA action.
The NCWC is an inter-agency maritime surveillance and coordination response body led by the Philippine Coast Guard attached to the Office of the President via the Office of the Executive Secretary.
The NCWC is the central body that provides strategic direction, formulation as well as promulgation of policy guidelines on matters relating to maritime security.
It is chaired by the Executive Secretary and members composed of the Department of Transportation, the DENR, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
The NCWC had come into being largely in 2015 with the key support provided by the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency which facilitated US military-industrial conglomerate Raytheon Technologies Corporation to design, implement and equip the body with an integrated border security system.
The system provided by Raytheon Technologies provided the NCWC with the ability to detect, prevent and deter threats and security risks across its territorial waters and also provided communications and surveillance solutions for the islands of Palawan and Cebu with associated training and sustainment for Filipino operators of the systems.
