The October 22 collision involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal will not trigger the Philippines-United States' Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) just yet.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. had this to say on Tuesday, Oct. 24., amid an escalating tension between Manila and Beijing over the disputed shoal.
"Ang mga ganitong sitwasyon hindi pa po kailangang ma-invoke ang Mutual Defense Treaty (Situations like these do not necessarily mean that we should invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty)," Brawner said in a radio interview with DZRH.
Although the AFP chief acknowledged that the collision was alarming, he explained that there are far "worse attacks" that would warrant the activation of the 72-year-old defense treaty.
"Mga mas malalang atake, a deliberate attack on our Philippine ships or an attack dito sa ating teritoryo would necessitate 'yong pag-invoke natin ng MDT (Worse attacks, for instance a deliberate attack on our Philippine ships or an attack on our territory would necessitate us to invoke the MDT)," Brawner said.
"Kung 'yung mga ganito lang na maliliit na pagbangga ay hindi muna (In small instances such as this collision, it's not yet time for that)," he added.
Signed on Aug. 30, 1951, the MDT states that both the Philippines and United States should support each other in case of an attack from an external party.
Under Article V of the MDT, it states that an armed attack on either of the Parties is deemed to include "an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific."
Nonetheless, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the AFP to sustain its rotation and reprovision (RORE) mission in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal despite the escalating tension with China.
Brawner assured the public that the military will not waver in its mandate to uphold the country's territorial integrity.
"Sa armed forces ay inutos po ng Pangulo na tuloy-tuloy 'yung ating resupply mission because that is our obligation. May mga sundalo po tayo doon sa BRP Sierra Madre sa Ayungin Shoal so kailangan suportahan (For the armed forces, the President ordered us to continue our resupply mission because that is our obligation. We have soldiers stationed onboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal so we need to support them)," Brawner said.
Marcos met with his Cabinet's national defense and security cluster on Monday in Malacanang to determine the details of the collision incident involving Philippine and Chinese vessels during the AFP's latest resupply mission in Ayungin last Oct. 22.
"We explained to the President 'yong nangyaring collision, 'yung nangyaring pagbangga (the collision incident) was intentional by China," Brawner said.
According to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel collided with one of the two supply boats chartered by the AFP to bring supplies to troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal.
Moreover, a Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels also bumped from behind Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Cabra, the task force added.
As such, Marcos instructed the PCG to conduct an investigation on the collision which will be used in the filing of a diplomatic protest by the Department of Foreign Affairs before international maritime bodies.
RORE mission
Brawner also said that the AFP is studying the possibility of using Philippine Navy ships in conducting RORE missions.
"Well pinag-aaralan natin 'yan kasi may mga sensitivities (We are studying that [possibility] because of the sensitivities)," he said.
He recalled the standoff in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) in 2012 where Philippine Navy and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy had a tense confrontation which led to the seizure of the shoal by Chinese forces.
"Ang iniiwasan po natin ay 'yung navy to navy ang magbangaan kasi kung navy to navy ang magbangaan, medyo ibang usapan na po 'yon (We are avoiding a potential navy to navy collision because if a navy to navy collision occurs, then that's a another matter)," the military chief said.
Brawner said that the reason why the AFP is chartering civilian boats, Unaiza May 1 and Unaiza May 2, in delivering fresh provisions to the troops in Ayungin Shoal is to avoid tense confrontation between military forces from opposing claimant-countries in the South China Sea.
But since the civilian boats are being harassed by Chinese vessels when conducting the resupply mission, they have to be escorted by PCG vessels, which are also civilian in nature.