The national government will soon resume the resupply mission for military personnel in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) following the “illegal” blocking operation of Chinese vessels to Philippine supply boats in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) recently.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., chairman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), said the transportation of supplies for the soldiers deployed on Ayungin Shoal will commence as soon as the goods are hauled from the damaged boats and loaded into new vessels.
“We will continue the resupply and we do not have to ask the permission of anybody because that is within our territory,” Esperon told reporters on Thursday, Nov. 18.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) revealed last Wednesday that three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels blocked and blasted with water cannon “Unaiza Mae 1” and “Unaiza Mae 3,” the two supply boats which were supposed to sail to the Filipino troops’ detachment at the BRP Sierra Madre (LST-542).
The BRP Sierra Madre was deliberately ran aground on Ayungin Shoal in the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) in 1999 to serve as the outpost of military troops for the Philippine-claimed area. The shoal is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is within the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the country.
The incident, which happened on Tuesday, lasted for one hour. The outrigger of one of the two local boats was damaged, forcing the suspension of the mission. They were eventually forced to go back to Palawan.
The incident drew heavy criticisms from the government as DFA Sec. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he conveyed to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing the “outrage, condemnation, and protest” of the Philippines.
For his part, Esperon said the NTF-WPS will enforce stricter maritime patrol operations near Ayungin Shoal especially since they have noticed the increased presence of Chinese vessels in the disputed area prior to the incident.
“Previous to that, for almost one week, we were puzzled about the unusual presence of the Chinese maritime militia there. Usually, they only have two vessels but last week there were 19. Near Pag-asa Island, there was also a record number for the year with 45,” he bared.
“ very aggressive so we are protesting that because that’s part of our EEZ and those are low tide elevations like the Mischief Reef so nobody is supposed to be there,” he added.
Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian insisted that their coast guard did nothing wrong since the boats “trespassed” into Chinese territorial waters but Esperon reiterated the government’s claim on Ayungin Shoal.
“We have to condemn this and protest the incident simply because they are within our sovereign territory, and we have jurisdiction over the area,” Esperon said, citing the provisions on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitral ruling in 2016 favoring the Philippines’ claim in the WPS over China’s.