Joy Dianne Gumatay

After years of shaping crisis communication during emergencies at sea, Joy Dianne Gumatay has learned to separate her emotions from her professional responsibilities. But she never wants this conscious distancing to turn into indifference. It took more than 30 hours before firefighters were able to safely enter the burning MV June Aster in the waters off Coron, Palawan, in the western Philippines, on Sept. 9.

Nations are used to diplomacy in the embassy. But in the South China Sea, consequential exchanges between states also occur on board vessels – or between them. In contested waters, conflict prevention should commence when ships come face to face at sea. Commanding officers and radio operators may only have a few minutes to communicate their position, respond to radio challenges, interpret the other vessel’s movements and decide how far an encounter could go without further intensifying tensions.

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