Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza has called on China to only state facts as it deals with the Philippines on the recent beaming of laser light at a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel in Ayungin Shoal.
Daza made the statement as she maintained that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stands by the PCG's account on the Ayungin Shoal incident where a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel used a military-grade laser against the PCG, causing temporarily blindness to its crew,
"So, we stand by the report of the PCG on this and we call on China that while we want to engage with China, the engagement should be based on facts and based on good will because what we're seeing at this point in time is the lack of congruence between what is actually being said, what is being announced, and what is happening on the ground, on the seas," Daza said in a television interview on Friday, Feb. 17.
The ambassador also called on China to desist from committing actions at sea that will threaten the peace and stability of the region, as she stressed that the incident even prompted President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to personally express serious concern over China's aggressiveness in the West Philippine Sea.
"he other point that we want to raise is the incident, no less than the President has called attention, serious concern, about the increasing frequency and intensity of action that are happening in West Philippine Sea kaya nga po (this is why) we're calling on China to desist and restrain from this action kasi hindi lang ho ito (because this is not only) damaging, dangerous, it's also destabilizing in terms of the peace and stability in the region," Daza emphasized.
'Not restrained, not professional'
Daza also refuted China's claim that the laser-pointing incident was the CCG's professional and restrained way to uphold China’s sovereignty and maritime order.
The ambassador said that aside from violating provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China's act "is not in keeping with relevant rules and regulations on navigational safety, not to mention the basic principles of professional seamanship and have the endangered the BRP Malapascua and its crew."
"So importante pong malaman, hindi ho ito legal, hindi ito restrained, hindi ito professional (So it is important to know that this is not legal, not restrained, this is not professional). It is violative of existing laws both UNCLOS, as well as in terms of navigation," Daza said.
"And we hope that this does not continue, and is not repeated," Daza expressed.
On Feb. 13, PCG reported that a CCG vessel with bow number 5205 pointed the laser light towards BRP Malapascua (MRRV-4403) in Ayungin Shoal past 6 p.m. on Feb. 6 while it was supporting a rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission of the Philippine Navy (PN).
On Feb. 14, China justified its action, saying the PCG vessel was intruding the Chinese waters, which they call Rena'ai Reef.
Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippines exclusive economic zone and is 105 nautical miles from West Palawan while it is about 694 nautical miles from China.
On the same day, the DFA lodged a diplomatic protest against CCG's "aggressive activities" in the West Philippine Sea. This followed Marcos' move to summon Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian to convey his “serious concern” over China’s aggressive acts against the PCG and Filipino fishermen.
On Feb. 15, Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesman Wang Wenbin disputed the Philippines' account of the incident, saying it "does not reflect the truth."