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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Stop lying!': Hontiveros tells China's MOFA on claims Ayungin Shoal is part of China's territory

'Stop lying!': Hontiveros tells China's MOFA on claims Ayungin Shoal is part of China's territory

Published Feb 14, 2023 02:30 pm

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, February 14 slammed the China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for its claims the Philippine vessel at Ayungin Shoal was at fault for intruding on Chinese territory.

In a press conference on Monday, China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel "intruded into the waters off the Ren'ai Reef without Chinese permission."

Wang maintained that Ren'ai Reef is part of China's Nansha Islands or what the Philippines refers to as Spratly Islands.

The PCG said the laser-pointing incident took place on February 6 near Ayungin Shoal. The act of pointing a military-grade laser against the Filipino crew reportedly caused temporary blindness to the crew members.

"China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is lying. It cannot claim that the Chinese Coast Guard ship acted in accordance with international law, when the 2016 arbitral tribunal that ruled against China’s baseless 9-dash-line claim was constituted precisely under the UNCLOS," Hontiveros said in a statement.

"Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na ang Ayungin Shoal ay teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Hindi yan sa Tsina. Huwag nila tawagin ng Tsinong pangalan (It is still clear in the sunlight that Ayungin Shoal is Philippine territory. That's not in China. Don't call them Chinese names). Ayungin is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone," she said.

"The UNCLOS affirms this. The wider international community recognizes this. It is only China’s authoritarian government that seems to think otherwise," she pointed out.

Hontiveros said China's MOFA should "stop lying and stick to the truth."

"That China is using her military might to justify her blatant and dangerous disregard for international law, with her flimsy historical 'claim' as an excuse," she reiterated.

"Stop with the false narratives, end the lies, and get out of the West Philippine Sea," she added.

In a separate statement, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada also condemned the latest intimidation tactic employed by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) against members of the PCG on a rotation and resupply mission of the Philippine Navy in Ayungin Shoal.

He said the laser-pointing incident is loathsome as it put them in harm’s way and jeopardized their safety.

"This provocative action should be stopped. We urge the Department of Foreign Affairs to lodge a diplomatic protest and stand firm in defending the country’s sovereign rights under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," Estrada said.

"Hindi kailanman katanggap-tanggap ang mga gawain na panghahamak sa ating pagka-Pilipino at paglagay sa panganib ang kapakanan ng ating Sandatahang Lakas at PCG (Activities that disparage our Filipino identity and endanger the well-being of our Armed Forces and PCG are never acceptable)," he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has filed a diplomatic protest to the embassy in Manila, and decried “the shadowing, harassment, dangerous maneuvers, directing of military-grade laser, and illegal radio challenges” by the CCG.

Related Tags

Risa Hontiveros Ministry of Foreign Affairs AYUNGIN SHOAL West Philippine Sea china
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