The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) initiated an investigation on Friday, April 9, to verify the alleged harrassment of Chinese military vessels on a civilian Philippine vessel in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
(Photo courtesy of National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea / FILE PHOTO)
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered the AFP's Western Command to "investigate, gather, and validate all the relevant facts" pertaining to the chase down of two missile-attack craft from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Chinese Coast Guard on a boat boarded by the television crew of ABS-CBN, led by reporter Chiara Zambrano, near the Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Reef).
Ayungin Shoal is located approximately 105 nautical miles west of Palawan, well within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
"We are concerned for the safety of anyone -- unarmed civilians -- at sea. As such, we view the report with concern," Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson, said the Western Command has already started its investigation to establish what transpired during the incident.
Arevalo said the military has made representations with the news crew to provide them with raw footages or photographs of the chase down "to help us establish the circumstances and document the incident."
Andolong noted that the information that will be obtained by the AFP "will be used to coordinate any appropriate action" through the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), and engagement among concerned agencies including the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), DND, and Department of transportation (DOTr) among others.
While Arevalo said that the AFP expressed concern over the reported chase down, he urged members of the media to take caution while performing their duties.
"While we understand the journalists' insatiable desire to be ahead in reporting, we appeal to them to exercise prudence in the course of their job," he said.
The reported harrassment of Chinese military vessels was part of a continuing saga on the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China in the WPS which started when around 220 Chinese vessels were spotted at the Julian Felipe Reef last month.
Since then, majority of the vessels believed to be manned by maritime militia have dispersed in other parts of the WPS and Kalayaan Island Group in Palawan while 44 trawlers remained at the reef.