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By Micah McCartney
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The Philippine Coast Guard has accused Chinese forces of jamming its Starlink systems to reinforce Beijing's claims in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
Why It Matters
China lays claim to most of the South China Sea, an energy-rich waterway that carries as much as one-third of global shipping, citing what it describes as historical rights, despite a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal that rejected those claims.
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The dispute has put Beijing at odds with several neighbors, including the Philippines. The expanding presence of Chinese maritime forces within Manila’s exclusive economic zone has led to periodic confrontations and prompted the U.S. treaty ally to increase military spending and deepen defense ties with Washington and other regional partners.
Newsweek reached out to the Philippine Coast Guard and China’s Defense Ministry for comment.
What To Know
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed an offshore patrol vessel and a patrol aircraft Monday morning to waters near the contested Scarborough Shoal—a traditional fishing ground inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone—to provide a reassuring presence for a “large number” of Philippine fishing boats operating in the area, Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela told reporters Monday.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) contributed four vessels to the mission and distributed ice packs and fuel to fishermen.
Three China Coast Guard vessels were observed about 40 miles from the shoal, Tarriela said, along with a Chinese navy warship bearing hull number 554, which he identified as the guided-missile frigate Tongliao.
Each Philippine government vessel lost its internet connection, provided by SpaceX's Starlink, whenever it came within approximately 24 nautical miles (28 miles) of Scarborough Shoal, disrupting communications with fishing boats and government authorities. It was the first time the Coast Guard had experienced such signal interference.
“Well, there is no other country we can think of that would jam our internet connectivity every time we move closer to Bajo de Masinloc. Definitely, it would be the People’s Republic of China,” Tarriela said, according to the Manila Bulletin.
The Coast Guard patrol aircraft also experienced internet disruption. In separate incidents on Wednesday and Thursday, Coast Guard and BFAR aircraft lost signal whenever they flew near the shoal and received a message stating that the service was “not currently available in this country,” Tarriela wrote on X.
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He said China was likely attempting to establish a geofence around the atoll, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and in China as Huangyan Dao. “It is worth noting that the Chinese government has not granted SpaceX the required licenses or approvals to operate within its borders, due to national security concerns and mandates for all network traffic to route through state-controlled gateways,” Tarriela added.
Scarborough Shoal is among the most fiercely contested features in the long-running dispute between China and the Philippines.
Tensions escalated in August when a China Coast Guard vessel and a Chinese navy destroyer collided while attempting to block a Philippine mission to support local fishermen. Days later, China unilaterally declared a nature reserve covering much of the atoll’s eastern edge.
What People Are Saying
Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Jiang Bin said during a February 10 press conference: “China urges the Philippine side to stop its unscrupulous political manipulation and self-directed farce at sea. China will continue to exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters in accordance with law, and resolutely defend China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
What Happens Next
Tarriela said the agency would “definitely come up with necessary contingencies” to address the disruptions.
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