Apparently inspired by the recent remarks of President Marcos Jr., the Department of National Defense (DND) said Filipinos are not known globally as aggressors but will not hesitate to take actions if the country’s sovereignty is at stake.
In a statement on Good Friday, March 29, Defense spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong echoed parts of Marcos’ recent take on the escalating tension between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea, and criticized China’s Ministry of National Defense which warned that the Philippines is “straying further down a dangerous path.”
"China’s defense ministry statement clearly reflects their isolation from the rest of the world on their illegal and uncivilized activities in the West Philippine Sea," Andolong said.
“The world has seen and knows that the Filipino people are not aggressors. We will never seek a fight or trouble. Neither will we be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience. We do not yield. We are Filipinos,” he added.
According to Chinese newspaper Global Times, Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian blames the Philippines’ “harassment and provocations” as the “immediate cause” of the recent escalation of the South China Sea issue.
"It [Philippines] is straying further down a dangerous path. The Chinese side will not allow the Philippines to act willfully," Wu was quoted as saying.
Documentation released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) showed otherwise, as Chinese vessels have been performing dangerous maneuvers, using water cannon and military-grade laser, and harassing Philippine vessels in different parts of the West Philippine Sea.
All the aggression, according to Andolong, showed Beijing’s inability to conduct “open, transparent, and legal negotiations.”
"Their repertoire consists only of patronizing and, failing that, intimidating smaller countries," he pointed out.
In a strongly-worded statement on Maundy Thursday, Marcos said a “countermeasure” will be implemented by relevant national government agencies and instrumentalities in response to the “open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks” by the China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia (CMM).
CCG and CMM vessels have long been trying to block the resupply mission by the AFP to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, where a dilapidated Philippine Navy warship, BRP Sierra Madre, was deliberately ran aground to serve as an outpost and symbol of the Philippines' sovereignty over the area.
A routine resupply mission is being held to feed the troops guarding the outpost.
However, recent supply runs have resulted in the injuries of Filipino military personnel.
This month alone, seven Filipino personnel were hurt during the March 5 and March 23 resupply missions when CCG vessels fired water cannon against the civilian supply boats carrying the troops who were supposed to bring food for the guardians of the BRP Sierra Madre outpost in the shoal.
The AFP and PCG, the primary government agencies that are involved in the resupply mission, did not give details when asked what countermeasures or adjustments will be carried out to prevent a repeat of the incidents.
"It will be a wholistic approach. It may encompass the CADC [Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept] too," said Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson.
The CADC refers to the new defense concept crafted by DND Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. to develop the capability of the AFP to protect and secure the country's entire territory and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), ensuring that the Filipino people and all the generations to come "shall freely reap and enjoy the bounties of the natural resources that are rightfully ours within our domain."