MANILA -- China’s use of a long-range acoustic device against Filipino sailors in the South China Sea marks an “increase in aggression” in the disputed waters, a Philippine Navy spokesman said.
The BRP Cabra, a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship, faced off with Chinese coast guard vessel 3203 and two other Chinese ships as it tried to sail on Saturday within Manila’s exclusive economic zone off the coast of Zambales, a province in the northern Philippines.
During the encounter, Filipino crew members described hearing a piercing sound at high decibels that could damage ears and cause severe discomfort.
“The long-range acoustic device [LRAD] is an increase in the aggression of the Chinese Communist Party in the West Philippine Sea,” said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea – Manila’s name for South China Sea waters within its exclusive economic zone.
“[Saturday’s incident] only highlights the illegal presence, their coercive and now more aggressive actions,” Trinidad told reporters on Tuesday.
Analysts said that the auditory weapon was the latest in China’s “gray-zone” tactics – activities that fall between ordinary statecraft and open warfare – to advance its interests without necessarily provoking war.
It follows the same tactic Beijing used in 2023, when the China Coast Guard (CCG) pointed a laser at a PCG vessel, temporarily blinding some crewmembers.
“The LRAD is a sound weapon that is harmful and can lead to deafness if overexposed. China has used this gray-zone tactic before against the PCG and it’s not something new as a military operation,” said security analyst Chester Cabalza, head of the International Development and Security Cooperation, a Philippine think-tank.
“But due to its detrimental effects to health and human body, this is no different to the lights war or laser light that Beijing keeps on poking against Manila in the [West Philippine Sea],” he told RFA affiliate BenarNews.
He said China had been abusing the gray-zone tactic, which he described as “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive in nature.”
RELATED STORIES
Experts: Philippines, US should revisit treaty to include China’s ‘gray-zone’ tactics
Philippines to exhaust options before seeking US military help for sea missions
Scarborough Shoal was a refuge for Filipino fishermen. Then Chinese boats moved in
Last week, Filipino scientists were forced to suspend a mission to a cay near Philippine-occupied Thitu (Pag-asa) island when three CCG vessels subjected it to “aggressive maneuvers,” Philippine officials said.
Trinidad noted that the actions at sea came shortly after a suspected Chinese spy was caught with two Filipino accomplices after allegedly scouting sensitive areas around Luzon – the main northern Philippine island – including near military bases that host American troops.
Trinidad said the arrested Chinese national and suspected accomplices were conducting “intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance of government critical infrastructure.”
“Connecting all these dots, we could now see a bigger picture that would give the government a clearer picture of what is happening. It’s not yet a complete puzzle. The puzzle is still being assembled, but we are now starting to see bits and pieces of the direction where this is taking us,” the navy spokesman said.
Although Trinidad would not elaborate on the alleged spy’s mission, the Philippines has allowed American troops access to nine bases throughout the country. Three of those are located in northern Luzon and face Taiwan, which China has threatened to invade.
Typhon training
Also on Tuesday, Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala confirmed that Filipino soldiers would train with U.S. troops next month in using the Typhon mid-range missile system. It has been in the country since last year, but Beijing has hotly protested the weapons deployment.
The Philippine Army has indicated its plans to acquire the system.
In the meantime, Dema-ala said Filipino soldiers would train with their American counterparts in the Typhon’s “payload delivery system.”
“This is planned. It will be conducted sometime in the second week to the third week of February,” he told a news briefing.
The Typhon System can fire the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk missiles and support strike capabilities from land, sea and air.
The missile system, developed by U.S. firm Lockheed Martin, has a range of 480 kilometers (300 miles), and can reach the disputed Scarborough Shoal as well as targets around Taiwan.
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.