Unaiza May (UM) 4 was sent to join the rotation and reprovisioning of troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal as a test mission to see if it can be used for future trips, Western Command (Wescom) chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said.
Carlos said the indigenous boat, which was on its maiden voyage to the West Philippine Sea (WPS), did not carry supplies for the mission as the sole objective of the trip was to check whether it could enter Ayungin or not, considering that it is bigger than UM 1 and 2, which are regularly used.
UM4 arrived at the Naval Forces West (Navforwest) detachment in Puerto Princesa City today, March 6, after completing the mission, with Vice Admiral Carlos on board to personally assess its potential for future rotations and resupply missions (RoRes).
Despite its maiden journey to the atoll in Kalayaan town in the contested waters, UM4 had previously been deployed on two “test missions” to the island municipalities of Cuyo and Balabac.
“This is [the] secondary objective of our mission, to test UM4, which is a lot bigger than UM 1 and 2 na ginagamit natin. Since it is bigger, mas malalim ang draft niya so ang concern namin is whether it can enter the shoal kasi makitid at mababaw ang entrance,” Carlos explained in an interview with the media.
“Wala siyang load, we purposely did not load this for rotation. We sent this out primarily to test if it can enter Ayungin Shoal and come alongside LS 57,” he added.
The test, however, was not completed as two China Coast Guard (CCG) ships blocked the boat through dangerous maneuvers, caused minor impact, and shot water cannons that shattered its glass windshields, destroyed CCTV cameras and monitors, and injured four personnel.
He sustained injuries to his right hand’s thumb and forefinger, as well as one of his feet, from glass shards.
For the safety of the resupply boat, he said, UM4 had to return to mainland Palawan together with its multi-role response escort vessel, BRP Sindangan.
Two CCG ships bombarded them with water cannons, while six militias blocked their path, with as many as 10 others observed at the time.
Despite this, the Wescom chief said the RoRe mission on Tuesday, March 5, was still successful as UM1 was able to enter Ayungin to deliver the supplies and relieve troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre.
“I’m happy to report that RoRe was successful. At least, yung primary mission to resupply and rotate yung mga tao, [they] are now aboard UM1. Yung ating mga secondary missions, unfortunately, due to illegal and coercive actions ng China, we were not able to complete that, but the important thing is safe lahat ng tropa sa UM4, and we’re all back—minor injuries lang,” he said.
Carlos commended the boat’s crew for their skillful maneuvering, evading several attempts by CCG ships and maritime militia vessels to block their path.
“But I have to give credit to the crew of UM4. Medyo mahabang patintero ang ginawa. For more than three hours, from 20 miles out, we were able to get as close as eight miles so we covered 12 miles against dangerous maneuvers of China,” he said.
“Minsan naba-block and then nakakalusot pero may limitations talaga ang UM4. Although bigger, it is still very slow. As you can see in the video kahit pabaliktad yung andar ng Chinese vessel, we can not outrun it, titigil ulit and hahapan ng butas,” he added.
Furthermore, Carlos said he noticed that China was a bit more serious with their monitoring of the RoRe mission this time with a new vessel involved.
They allegedly noticed two helicopters flying low, closely monitoring every move of UM4.
“They started shadowing us at 4 in the afternoon the previous day (March 4). A helicopter flew over us five times, yong last two were very close. Akala ko it was usual, may helicopter sila, usual na yon. Pero pagsilip ko ang lapit na. So, sabi ko very unusual na yun. They spent about one hour circling so that’s an indication that they are really serious in monitoring UM4, and nakita nila na kakaiba siguro,” he noted.
“And then the following morning, the patintero started at around 5 a.m. at 20 miles away (from Ayungin Shoal),” he said also pointing out that it was quite unusual.
He also stated that despite the minor setback, they will still give another shot to get UM4 inside Ayungin Shoal.
“We tried our best, we’re gonna do it again. We have to test whether this can enter the shoal, because UM1 is medyo maliit so we would like to use this in future RoRes,” he said.
