A SHIP of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) accidentally hit one of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels that fired water cannons at a Philippine vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea last Tuesday.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, made the statement yesterday as he rejected China’s allegation that the Philippine vessel deliberately rammed the CCG ship.
“It was not intentional,” Tarriela told a press briefing, adding the CCG was lying about the incident that involved BFAR’s BRP Datu Gumbay Piang.
CCG spokesman Gan Yu has said the Philippine vessel “disregarded solemn warnings from the Chinese side and deliberately rammed a Chinese coast guard vessel.”
Tarriela said, “The BFAR vessel was being water cannoned. How can you even expect the BFAR vessel to prevent such unintentional ramming? They (CCG vessels) made dangerous maneuvers while it (BFAR vessel) was being water cannoned on the front and rear side.”
He also said the BFAR vessel sustained significant damage due to the water cannoning and not due to the unintentional ramming incident.
“There’s no structural damage because of the collision. The damage she incurred is actually from the water cannon,” he said adding the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang was on the way to its homeport in Sual, Pangasinan yesterday.
The National Maritime Council said the Chinese’ ships’ “illegal and hostile actions” caused structural and electrical damage to BRP Datu Gumbay Piang and injured a Filipino crew member.
It added that despite the damage it sustained, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang successfully maneuvered the vessel to safety and continued its humanitarian mission.
Tarriela, on the CCG vessel that was accidentally hit, implied it did not sustain any damage. “I don’t think the collision (impact) was that significant.”
The BRP Datu Gumbay Piang was targeted by the CCG vessels while it was distributing fuel and ice to fishermen near the shoal, together with several other BFAR and PCG vessels,
Tarriela said that before the incident, a Chinese vessel issued a radio broadcast announcing a live fire exercise in the area. He said no live fire exercise actually happened but the broadcast prompted the PCG to advise Filipino fishermen to move away from the specific areas where the exercise was supposed to be held.
“It was a very serious threat to the point that the Filipino fishermen got (scared). That’s why we even asked them to move out from the grid coordinates mentioned by the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy,” said Tarriela.
Asked if the PCG would again advise Filipino to move out if the Chinese would threaten to hold live fire exercise near the shoal, Tarriela said, “We always take this seriously and we care for the safety of Filipino fishermen.”
“Even if it’s something that will be used by China to threaten Filipino fishermen to move away from a particular fishing area, we’ll still advise them to go away from that area and escort them as well,” he added.
DEFENSE POSTURE
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. reiterated the need for the country to have a strong defense posture and credible deterrent capability.
“Philippine resilience per se on a national defense basis is essential,” he said during the September general membership meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in Makati City.
“No country in the world is taken seriously at face value, no matter how diplomatic you want to be, without a strong defense backbone … Strong deterrent backbone for that matter. The smaller the country, the stronger the deterrence,” he said.
Teodoro also cited the importance of alliances and partnerships with other nations.
He said visiting forces agreements are clear expressions of support for Philippine sovereignty and international law.
“And we hope that we will have a growing number of visiting forces partners because it’s the highest expression of support for the arbitral award, for our sovereign rights, for our territorial integrity and sovereignty, and for the values that we stand for,” he said referring to the 2016 ruling of the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on the case lodged by the Philippines against China, which declared China’s “nine-dash line” claim illegal and affirmed the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and sovereign rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
China does not recognize the ruling.
The National Maritime Council (NMC) asked China anew to cease its “illegal, provocative and dangerous activities in the West Philippine Sea” as it condemned the latest actions of Chinese vessels at Scarborough Shoal, also known as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.
“The provocative and dangerous actions of China’s vessels in the West Philippine Sea, which placed lives and vessels at risk, clearly violate the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, and relevant international maritime safety regulations,” the NMC said in a statement.
“The Philippines remains steadfast in continuing its lawful and routine operations in its maritime zones in the West Philippine Sea, in the exercise of its sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, consistent with international law,” it added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada denounced what he said was China’s renewed disregard of international law.
He said the CCG’s use of water cannon against BRP Datu Gumbay Piang is yet another “blatant display” of disregard for international law, the Philippines’ sovereign rights, and the safety of Filipinos on board the ship. – With Jocelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa
