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Marcos is taking China collision with PH vessels in WPS 'very seriously'—DND chief

Philippines | National

Marcos is taking China collision with PH vessels in WPS 'very seriously'—DND chief

By Betheena Unite

President Marcos is taking the latest incident in the West Philippine Sea, where a Chinese vessel collided with Philippine boats, very seriously, a Cabinet official said.

BRP Cabra's (right) port side is bumped by Chinese maritime militia vessel (CMMV) 00003 during a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal on Oct. 22, 2023. (Courtesy of National Task Force for West Philippine Sea)

"The President is taking this very seriously," Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said in a Palace briefing on Monday, Oct. 23.

"[H]e’s taking this very, very seriously so much so that he called the special command conference this morning," he added.

Teodoro further said that the highest levels of government is "giving serious weight" to the incident given the "false narrative of China."

"And if you will read the statement, the highest levels of government are giving serious weight to this incident given the false narrative of China, given the more egregious and aggressive behavior that they display, and given that we cannot take this or tolerate this kind of action or take it lightly or neither take it lightly nor tolerate it," Teodoro stressed.

Marcos called for a command conference on Monday morning and ordered the Philippine Coast Guard to conduct a maritime investigation in accordance with international maritime safety regulations, following China's "latest aggression" in Ayungin Shoal.

The PCG is looking to complete the probe in five days.

The sea incident took place while supply boats "Unaiza Mae 1" and "Unaiza Mae 2" were conducting a rotation and reprovision (RORE) mission to Ayungin Shoal on Sunday, Oct. 22.

The boats were being escorted by PCG ships BRP Cabra (MRRV 4409) and BRP Sindangan (MRRV) 4407) when Chinese vessels allegedly attempted to block them and made dangerous maneuvers, resulting the Chinese vessel to collide with Unaiza Mae 2 and BRP Cabra.

Related Tags

Gilbert Teodoro West Philippine Sea President Marcos Ayungin Shoal

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