China on Friday, Sep. 8, confirmed that its coast guard shadowed two Philippine vessels on resupply mission in the Ayungin Shoal, a part of the Philippine territory, because they entered the waters “without the permission from the Chinese government.”

In a statement, the China Coast Guard (CCG) maintained that it would continue “to carry out law enforcement activities in the sea areas under China’s jurisdiction according to law.”

This came after it shadowed two replenishment ships from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), which CCG said illegally intruded into the adjacent waters of Ayungin Shoal (Ren’ai Reef). The incident happened on Friday.

This happened although the China Coast Guard already “strictly warned the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law, tracked and monitored the vessels all the way and effectively regulated them,” it said.

“China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including the Ren'ai Reef, and its adjacent waters, and firmly opposes the illegal transportation of construction materials by the Philippines to the illegal grounded warship,” it added.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that it successfully replenished the supplies of BRP Sierra Madre, which is beached at the Ayungin Shoal, despite “harassment, dangerous maneuvers and aggressive conduct” of CCG and militia vessels in the waters.

The Philippine government strongly condemned China’s action as they supposedly destabilized the country’s legal operations in the waters.

It also reiterated President Marcos’ recent pronouncement during the ASEAN Summit that, “practical cooperation in the maritime domain can only flourish with an enabling environment of regional peace, security and stability anchored in international law.”