The national government on Monday, August 7, expressed commitment to protect Ayungin Shoal and prevent a repeat of the 2012 standoff between the Philippines and China at Scarborough Shoal, a previously Philippine-administered shoal, which resulted to the capture of the shoal by the Chinese forces.
National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya made the assurance as the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) condemned the latest incident of “harassment” perpetrated by China when its coast guard, navy, and maritime militia ships allegedly performed dangerous maneuvers and fired water cannon at Philippine vessels near Ayungin Shoal last August 5.
“We will never abandon Ayungin Shoal. We are committed to Ayungin Shoal,” Malaya said in a press briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Building in Manila.
“If we wish to speculate, they are probably looking for weaknesses in the Philippines’ position or trying to gauge our commitment to supply our troops in the shoal. And we are here precisely to reassure the Filipino people, as directed by our President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.], we are consistent with the President’s directive during the SONA [State of the Nation Address] that we will not lose an inch of our territory,” he added.
The 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff between Chinese maritime forces and Philippine maritime authorities led to the seizure of the shoal by Beijing.
Malaya said that it is important for the Philippines to continue filing diplomatic protests against China for their incursions in the WPS.
“The diplomatic protests are for purposes of putting on record our continuing objection to what the Chinese are doing. The moment we stopped issuing these diplomatic protests, it can be construed by China and the international community as an abandonment of our position,” he explained.
“This government will continue to file these diplomatic protests even if it runs into the hundreds because precisely by doing so, we are reaffirming our commitment to the Philippines position that Ayungin Shoal and all other features which we occupy are part of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines. We exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction over those features,” he stressed.
RORE mission
According to the NTF-WPS, which is chaired by the NSC, the incident began as early as August 4 or the day before the rotation and reprovision (RORE) mission where the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chartered two supply boats to bring supplies to the troops onboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine commissioned vessel which was deliberately ran aground off Ayungin Shoal to serve as a military outpost.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deployed BRP Malapascua and BRP Cabra to serve as security escort to the supply boats.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for WPS, said that the PCG vessels used Escoda Shoal as a rendezvous point for them to meet the chartered boats.
“The PCG vessels are staying in Sabina Shoal to meet the resupply boats. As early as 6:22 p.m. a day before the resupply mission, we were able to monitor CCG 5304 already staying in that particular location and waiting for the resupply mission to be executed,” he said.
He said a total of six CCG vessels, three People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships, and two Chinese maritime militia vessels formed a blockade, performed dangerous maneuvers, and fired water cannons at the Philippine vessels to interrupt the mission.
The dangerous amneuvers and water cannon firing resulted to a failed mission, where only one of the two supply boats reached Ayungin Shoal. The other boat had to return to Palawan along with the PCG vessels.
Joint exercise
The particular incident puts into peril the proposed joint maritime exercise between the AFP and the Chinese military.
Col. Medel Aguilar, AFP spokesperson, said the military cannot make a decision whether it will still consider China’s proposal for a joint exercise even after the Ayungin incident although he hinted that the Filipino people’s uproar should be considered.
“I don’t know if it’s even worth to be discussed here. We cannot make a decision on that issue. I think you can ask the Filipino people on their reaction,” he said.
He also addressed CCG’s accusation that the supply boats were bringing construction materials to BRP Sierra Madre, hinting that the area is being developed by the troops.
“Based on the report provided to us, these are supplies needed by our people there to make sure that they will have food to eat, water to drink, and other supplies,” he said.
Aguilar also questioned China’s reported proposal to the Philippine government to tow away the BRP Sierra Madre so its dilapidated state could be fixed and improved.
“Who is china coast guard to tell us what to do?” he asked.