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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Defense chief hits China over Ayungin collision: Serious escalation of illegal activities!

Defense chief hits China over Ayungin collision: Serious escalation of illegal activities!

Published Oct 23, 2023 08:19 am
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Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Photo by Noel Pabalate / MANILA BULLETIN)

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. slammed China anew on Monday, Oct. 23, over the collision of Philippines and Chinese vessels during a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Teodoro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called a special command conference with the national security and defense cluster in Malacanang to determine the details of the collision involving Unaiza Mae 2, an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)-chartered boat tasked to bring supplies to troops onboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Cabra, China Coast Guard (CCG) ship 5203, and Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessel 00003.

"The Philippine government views the latest aggression by China as a blatant violation of international law. China has no legal right or authority to conduct law enforcement operations in our territorial waters and in our exclusive economic zone. We are taking this incident seriously, at the highest level of government," Teodoro said.

"This is a serious escalation of the illegal activities conducted by the Chinese government in the WPS, in complete disregard of any norm or convention of any international law," he added.

The collision occurred at 6:04 a.m. on Oct. 22 when Unaiza Mae 2 was allegedly deliberately hit by CCG 5203.

The incident was followed by CMM 00003 bumping the port side of BRP Cabra, putting the lives of Filipino sailors at risk.

"This occurred within the 200 exclusive economic zone of the Philippines which China has no jurisdiction, authority or right to conduct any operations whatsoever," Teodoro said.

'Ironic'

The incident occurred just as China is reportedly hosting the second round of discussions on the establishment of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS).

"I think it is really very ironic that on this very day is the start of the second round of discussions on the proposed Code of Conduct which is hosted by China whereas just yesterday, they are in blatant disregard of international law within our jurisdiction," Teodoro said.

He questioned the sincerity of China in hosting the discussions for the establishment of the COC, or the protocols or guidelines on how ships and aircraft of opposing claimants in the South China Sea are supposed to behave.

"What kind of good faith can we expect from them? That we will wait for our representatives to that Code of Conduct meeting to disclose or report to our people," Teodoro noted.

The defense chief emphasized that the collision was a "serious and egregious violation" of international law by China, and an "escalation of [China's] expansionist and aggressive action."

"What kind of message is this signaling? I want to know and we deserve undistorted answers, the truth from the government of China because, once again, we repeat that they have neither jurisdiction nor authority to conduct any sort of governmental operations within our 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone," Teodoro stressed.

"No justification they can give will stand the test of credence before our own people, and more importantly before the whole world," he added.

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Gilberto Teodoro Jr. DND
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