THE Philippine Navy yesterday accused China of trying to provoke the Philippines into firing the first shot as the territorial dispute between the two countries continued to escalate.
It also described as barbarians Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) personnel involved in last Monday’s incident at the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
In the latest incident of Chinese aggression, the CCG personnel intercepted two Philippine Navy (PN) vessels and boarded two rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) taking part in a resupply mission for troops at the shoal.
The troops assigned at Ayungin Shoal, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone,” are billeted at the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting Navy ship that was grounded at the shoal in 1999 to serve as military outpost.
The Chinese later punctured the two RHIBs, along with rubber boats attached to BRP Sierra Madre. The dangerous maneuvers and ramming caused serious injury to one of the troops aboard one of the Navy RHIBs. The Chinese also took seven rifles and other equipment and destroyed others.
“They would like to push us to fire the first shot,” said Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
He said a civilian supply boat, ML Lapu-Lapu, which was supposed to bring supplies to the troops at Ayungin Shoal did not proceed with its mission after it was rammed by the Chinese.
Reports said three Hubei-class missile boats were among the vessels deployed by the Chinese during last Monday’s incident. They also deployed helicopter during the incident.
“This should never get into a shooting war,” said Trinidad, who called the actions of the Chinese last Monday as “escalatory.”
“We have to understand that they want to find a way for you to commit a mistake. So if you know that, what is your protection? Your action should be within the bounds of law,” he said.
Trinidad said Filipino troops are under instructions “not to get there; we are putting a lot of effort into that,” referring to the firing of a shot.
SELF-DEFENSE
Trinidad said the behavior of the Chinese last Monday was not enough for Filipino troops to fire a shot.
“Because number one, in mission accomplishment, the use of force is not allowed. Number two, it’s only in self-defense… others or of your unit.”
“We have told our troops (that the use) of force for mission accomplishment is not authorized unless in self-defense,” said Trinidad.
He said the serious injury sustained by a Navy man was “unintended.” The sailor lost his right thumb after a Chinese RHIB rammed the Philippine Navy RHIB he was on.
“Our actions will always be guided by the rules of engagement. It will always be within the bounds of international law. We are here to assert our sovereignty, we are here to ensure our sovereign rights are protected,” he said.
Trinidad said “appropriate changes” will be adopted for resupply missions.
He also said they are conducting an “after activity review” in relation to last Monday’s rotation and reprovisioning (RoRe) mission.
“We can’t say something went wrong but there were gaps that we identified that we have to address,” he said.
BAND OF BARBARIANS
Asked what the gaps were, Trinidad said Filipino troops went to the area governed by rules of engagement and international law while the personnel from the other side were not.
“What they did was piracy,” said Trinidad, adding the actions of the Chinese were rude and made Filipinos look like fools.
“I call them a band of barbarians and in the first place they have no right to wear the uniform. Coast Guard men are supposed to be responsible for safety of life at sea. Their actions endanger life at sea,” said Trinidad.
He said the behavior of the Chinese Coast Guard personnel “does not speak well of a country that want to be a global power.”
“Now, how do we ensure this will not be repeated? We could not ensure it will be not repeated because they (Chinese) dictate their actions,” he said.
“What we could do is to prepare our men, equip them appropriately,” he said.
Trinidad said the recent incident at Ayungin was just a “microcosm of the bigger picture.” The bigger picture, he said, is China’s encroachment into the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidated China’s excessive claim in the South China. It also acknowledged the rights of the Philippines to its EEZ.
JAPAN SUPPORT
General Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), reiterated the Japanese military’s support to the Philippine military following last Monday’s incident.
Yoshida made the statement during a video teleconferencing with Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
“JSDF always stands on the side of AFP, and JSDF will deepen its cooperation with Philippines and like-minded countries,” said Yoshida.
Brawner thanked Yoshida for Japanese military’s continued support to the Philippine armed forces.
On Wednesday, Navy vice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia met with visiting US 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher at the Navy headquarters in Manila.
“We are glad we are here during these challenging times. This underscores all the things that our national leaders are saying with respect to our relationship as friends and partners,” Kacher said as he expressed support for the Philippine Navy.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said he talked with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about “PH-US cooperation following the most recent developments in the WPS/SCS and, in this regard, possible ways forward.”
The dialogue was affirmed by US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who said the latest “escalatory actions” of China in the disputed waters were discussed by Manalo and Blinken.
Senate President Francis Escudero said he will ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to conduct a comprehensive briefing for senators so they can come up with measures to possibly de-escalate the tension at West Philippine Sea.
“The escalation of tensions in the West Philippine Sea is alarming and the Senate will be seeking a full briefing from the DFA on the latest incident, as well as the efforts being undertaken to address this,” Escudero said in a statement.
He said the DFA should go beyond the filing of diplomatic protests and explore all possibilities of having a “meaningful dialogue” with China to further prevent escalation but at the same time protect the Philippines’ rights and privileges in the disputed territory.
He also encouraged the armed forces to find other ways to bring supplies to Ayungin “so that our troops are properly resupplied while minimizing the risks and achieving our desired objectives,” he added.
Sen. Loren Legarda said the Philippines should have a constructive dialogue with China to prevent further escalation of tensions at the WPS.
“Any damage, any violation in that area, which is our EEZ, must be dealt with, how? By constructive dialogue but at the same time they must respect our sovereignty especially it is in the waters within our exclusive economic zone,” Legarda said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.
Sen. Francis Tolentino urged Malacañang to convene the National Security Council so they can discuss what transpired last Monday.
VESSELS
The military reported a decline in the number of Chinese vessels in eight areas in the West Philippine Sea from June 11 to 17, including the first three days of implementation of China’s new policy that authorizes the detention of supposed trespassers.
Based on the Philippine Navy’s monitoring, there were 121 Chinese vessels – mostly militias, in these areas during the period, down from 146 during the previous week.
Ninety-seven of these are Chinese militia vessels (from 108), 15 are Coast Guard vessels (from 15); and nine are Navy ships (from 22).
Of the 121 vessels, 39 were monitored at Ayungin Shoal — 32 militia vessels, five Coast Guard vessels and two Navy vessels.
Chinese vessels have been harassing Philippine military resupply missions to the shoal in the past months. — With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval
