DND slams latest incident with China in Ayungin

MANILA, Philippines — It was “offensive and unsafe,” Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said yesterday about a Chinese Coast Guard vessel that shone a military laser light on a Filipino boat, blinding crew members on a mission to supply a military outpost in Ayungin, swarming in the West Philippine Sea on February 6.

“The Minister of Defense has already said that the act committed by the Chinese Coast Guard is offensive and unsafe,” Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Colonel Medel Aguilar told reporters.

“Therefore, I think it’s time for the Chinese government to restrain its armed forces from committing provocative acts that endanger people’s lives,” he added.

Malacañang has kept quiet the incident, which came two days before President Marcos’ state visit to Japan and days after agreeing to resume joint patrols at sea and agreeing to allow US troops access to four more military bases in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

“We are referring to the PCG Statement,” Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a text message, referring to the Philippine Coast Guard by its initials.

Aguilar said this is the first time, to his knowledge, that the Chinese Coast Guard has used laser lights to intimidate and harass non-Chinese boats in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.

He declined to say whether the latest incident was an escalation of tensions in the region.

“No, there shouldn’t be an escalation,” he said, adding that he had no information yet on whether there were any soldiers aboard the supply ship.

It was the latest episode in a series of maritime incidents between the Philippines and China, which claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, ignoring an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis.

“The deliberate blocking of Philippine government vessels delivering food and supplies to our military personnel aboard the BRP Sierra Madre is a flagrant disregard and a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty rights in this part of the Western Philippine Sea,” the PCG said.

The BRP Malapascua supported a “rotation and resupply mission” for the troops living in a derelict naval ship that is aground on the shoal to assert Manila’s territorial claims.

The Chinese Coast Guard vessel twice shone a “military-grade” green laser light at the Philippine vessel, “causing temporary blindness among her crew on the bridge,” the PCG said in a statement.

“Dangerous Maneuver”

The Chinese ship also made “dangerous manoeuvres” by getting within about 140 meters of the Philippine boat.

“The deliberate blocking of Philippine government vessels delivering food and supplies to our military personnel … is a blatant disregard and a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty rights in this part of the western Philippine Sea,” the PCG said.

Manila refers to bodies of water immediately to the west as the West Philippine Sea.

It is not clear if the supply mission to the Ayungin Shoal was successful. Privately owned vessels are usually used to transport supplies, with the Coast Guard accompanying them.

“The PCG will continue to exercise due diligence to protect the country’s territorial integrity from foreign aggression. The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) can always count on the PCG to support their supply mission in the Ayungin Shoal,” PCG Commander Admiral Artemio Abu said.

“Despite the dangerous maneuvering of the much larger CCG ships and their aggressive actions at sea, the PCG ships will always be in the West Philippine Sea to maintain our presence and assert our sovereign rights,” he added.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China Coast Guard and naval militia vessels also blocked the Philippine-occupied shoal in August to prevent government ships from reaching the troops, the Coast Guard said.

President Marcos and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed in January to establish direct communication between their foreign ministries to avoid “misunderstandings” in the region. It is not known if the hotline was used in the recent incident.

The US-Philippines agreement earlier this month brings the total number of Philippine bases accessible to US forces under the EDCA to nine.

It comes as longtime allies seek to counter China’s military advance in the region.

Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea.

Urgent

The Feb. 6 incident shows the urgency of the proposed security cooperation triad between the Philippines, Japan and the US, or even a “quad” that includes Australia, senators said yesterday.

Senators said instead of promoting stability in the South China Sea, China appears to be increasing tensions instead.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said the reported beaming of a military-grade green laser at a PCG ship supporting a supply mission in Ayungin Shoal is worrying and there should be no pause in the State Department’s (EDA) filing of diplomatic protests. give. .

“Videos don’t lie…we need to show the world that we cannot be bullied by any country,” Villanueva said.

Proposed defense cooperation with Japan and the US, and possibly Australia, was among the issues discussed behind closed doors by the senators during their caucus, Villanueva said.

If such an alliance were formalized in a treaty, it would have to be ratified by the Senate.

He said he welcomes such proposals, but the Marcos administration should approach them cautiously so as not to “create friction”.

Deputy Senate Majority Leader Joseph Victor Ejercito condemned the Chinese Coast Guard, adding that Beijing is likely to simply ignore diplomatic protests from Manila, as in the past.

“It is time for the Philippines to form an alliance with the US, Japan, Australia and other ASEAN countries with territorial disputes with China so that China’s ongoing aggression in the Asia-Pacific region must stop,” Ejercito said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, a member of the minority bloc, said the latest incident is not helping Beijing’s efforts to assume regional leadership at all.

“The Chinese government, if it wants to show true leadership in the region, should act responsibly and stop any behavior by its coast guard, navy and naval militia that could further aggravate the situation in the western Philippine Sea,” Hontiveros said.

“Tensions are already high, but what is China doing instead? She’s getting bolder by the day. Their flagrant harassment, which temporarily blinds Filipino crew members, should warrant punishment,” she said.

Hontiveros said the Navy and the PCG have their full support in implementing appropriate countermeasures against “the repeated unjust and violent operations by Chinese elements in the country’s maritime zones.”

“I also reiterate my call for Malacañang and the DFA to meet with other applicant countries in ASEAN, as well as with QUAD member states, to ensure peace is maintained in our waters. We need to establish an updated security framework with our partners in the region as soon as possible,” the senator said. – AFP, Alexis Romero, Paolo Romero