Senators deplored China's actions anew after a collision with Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) during a resupply mission on Monday, Aug. 19.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said that the "ramming incident" underscores the need to critically assess China’s sincerity and good faith in its participation in the Bilateral Consultative Mechanism (BCM) with the Philippines.
"Such acts of aggression are unacceptable and call for an immediate cessation of hostile actions. It is imperative that China respects the Philippines’ sovereign rights and adheres to international maritime law," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe slammed this latest "irresponsible maneuvers" by China within the country's territory.
She said that the damage inflicted on the Philippine vessel endangers the safety of the crew and the incident also undermines the freedom of sea routes guaranteed under international laws.
"We will continue to stand behind our Coast Guard in protesting and exposing these unlawful activities to send a message that such bullying will always be met with pushback," she said.
"At the same time, we urge concerned agencies to intensify our maritime security cooperation with our allies and neighbors that similarly believe that the international law is on our side," she added.
PCG ships BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engaño (MRRV-4411) were en route to Patag (Flat) Island and Lawak (Nanshan) Island to bring supplies to troops guarding the Philippine-occupied features when they were subjected to “unlawful and aggressive maneuvers” by the China Coast Guard, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS).
Patag and Lawak Islands are two of the nine maritime features occupied by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands. The other features are Rizal Reef, Panata Island, Kota Island, Parola Island, Ayungin Shoal, Likas Island, and the largest of them -- Pagasa Island.