MANILA – The Philippine Navy’s BRP Benguet narrowly avoided a collision near Pag-asa Island on Wednesday after a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy missile frigate from China performed a risky maneuver, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command (WESCOM) said.

“While conducting lawful operations, BRP Benguet encountered the PLAN vessel, which executed an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver by closing in and passing at a dangerously close distance,” WESCOM said in a statement.

“Such dangerous maneuvers are provocative and constitute a clear violation of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs).”

WESCOM also urged the PLA Navy to follow international rules.

“The Western Command (WESCOM) calls on the PLA Navy to adhere to established international rules and norms to prevent incidents at sea. WESCOM will perform its lawful maritime operations with professionalism and resolve in exercising the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea,” the statement said.

Pag-asa Island, part of the Kalayaan island group in the contested West Philippine Sea, lies 277 kilometers from mainland Palawan and covers 32.7 hectares, making it the largest of the Kalayaan islands.