Philippine Coast Guard Drives Five Foreign Fishing Vessels Away From Kota Island

The Philippine Coast Guard, working with the Philippine Navy and Marine Corps, drove five unauthorized foreign fishing vessels away from Kota Island on October 11, 2026, after spotting them inside the island’s territorial sea.

At around 2:15 p.m., Coast Guard personnel spotted one vessel preparing to fish illegally about 200 meters from shore and another loitering one nautical mile west of the island. Neither responded to radio challenges.

Two rubber boats carrying six Coast Guard personnel were deployed at 3 p.m. As the team approached, the vessel near the shore retrieved a sampan it had deployed. Three more foreign fishing vessels were then spotted approaching the island.

All five vessels withdrew as the Coast Guard team continued its approach, moving beyond Kota Island’s territorial sea. The operation ended at 4 p.m. without incident.

It was the third operation in two weeks to drive foreign vessels away from the island. On October 9, the Coast Guard repelled Chinese Maritime Militia Vessel 9622 and 22 sampans. The same vessel had also been driven away on September 28.

Kota Island is part of the Municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan. The Philippines asserts sovereignty over its territorial sea, where foreign vessels cannot fish without authorization. Such activities also violate the Philippine Fisheries Code and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, according to the Coast Guard.