Latest incident near Ayungin Shoal condemned
BY VICTOR REYES and ASHZEL HACHERO
A SHIP of the Philippine Coast Guard and a military-contracted civilian vessel were hit by Chinese vessels yesterday morning near the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) denounced what it called “dangerous, irresponsible and illegal” actions of the Chinese Coast Guard vessel and Chinese maritime militia.
China traded accusations with the Philippines. China’s coast guard said in a statement the Philippine vessel had ignored repeated warnings, crossed the bow of the Chinese ship, and “deliberately provoked trouble,” causing the collision.
“The Philippines behavior seriously violates the international rules on avoiding collisions at sea and threatens the navigation safety of our vessels,” the China Coast Guard said.
The United States expressed support for the Philippines, denouncing China’s “disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission.”
“We stand with our #FriendsPartnersAllies in protecting Philippine sovereignty and in support of a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific,” US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson posted on X, the platform previously called Twitter.
Joining the US in condemning Chinese action are European Union Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron, Netherlands Ambassador to Manila Marielle Geraedts, and the Canadian Embassy in Manila.
“These incidents, their repetition and intensification, are dangerous and very disturbing. We join the Philippines in its call for the full observance of International Law in the South China Sea,” Veron said in a post on X.
“Another worrying incident. Glad nobody got hurt. The Netherlands stands with the Philippines in its call for the full observance of International Law in the South China Sea,” Geraedts said in a post on X.
The Canadian Embassy said it “condemns the unlawful and dangerous conduct of the People’s Republic of China Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels… which provoked two collisions with Philippine vessels engaged in routine operations inside the Philippine Economic Zone, in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal.”
Sunday’s collision occurred during a routine resupply mission of a boat contracted by Armed Forces.
The NTF-WPS, in a statement, said the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with bow number 5203 made “dangerous blocking maneuvers” against the military-chartered wooden boat Unaiza May 2 during a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal a 6:04 a.m.
The dangerous maneuvers “caused it (Chinese ship) to collide” with Unaiza May 2 (UM2) which was some 13.5 nautical miles east northeast of the shoal at that time. The shoal is some 108 nautical miles from Rizal, Palawan.
Unaiza May 2 and another military-chartered boat, Unaiza May 1, were on a regular and routine rotation and resupply (RORE) mission to Ayungin Shoal at the time of the incident. They were escorted by two vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard vessels (PCG), BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan.
Filipino troops occupying the shoal are staying at a rusting Navy ship, BRP Sierra Madre, which was grounded at the shoal in 1999 to serve as military outpost.
“The provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action of CCGV 5203 imperiled the safety of the crew of UM2,” the NTF-WPS said.
A video released by the Armed Forces showed UM2 was hit on its rear side while crossing the bow of the Chinese ship. The impact appeared to be minor as UM2 was able to continue on its course.
The NTF-WPS also said that during the same resupply mission, the PCG vessel BRP Cabra, which was about 6.4 nautical miles northeast of Ayungin Shoal, “was bumped” by a Chinese maritime militia vessel.
A video footage from the Armed Forces showed BRP Cabra was moving closely at the right side of side of the Chinese maritime militia vessel and had to turn to its right side or it would have hit another Chinese vessel that was in front.
The NTF-WPS, in a statement issued past 11 a.m. yesterday, said the RORE mission was ongoing but Unaiza May 1 has reached the BRP Sierra Madre “to successfully resupply our troops and personnel stationed there.”
CONDEMNATON
The NTF-WPS said it “condemns in the strongest degree the latest dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal actions of the CCG and the Chinese maritime militia done this morning, in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
It also said China’s actions were an “utter blatant disregard” of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, relevant international maritime conventions, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.
The 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling invalidated China’s excessive claim in the West Philippine Sea. The ruling also recognized the Philippines’ rights to its 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone.
Chinese vessels have been harassing military resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal in the past months, mainly through dangerous maneuvers. There have also been incidents of laser-pointing and water-cannoning by Chinese vessels, but yesterday’s collision was the first in recent months or even years.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, no one was hurt in the incident.
“There was no casualty, they (crew) are safe. And the damage was minor… Definitely, no one was injured,” he said when asked on the status of Unaiza May 2.
Asked if the Chinese cases of harassment were enough to trigger the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the United States, the source said no.
Article IV of the 1951 MDT says each party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific region on either parties “would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.”
The succeeding article says an armed attack is deemed to include an “armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the parties, or on the Island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean, its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.”
‘ABHORRENT ACTIONS’
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri condemned “this latest abhorrent actions” of the CCG and its militia vessels that put the lives of Filipinos in danger.
“I also call on China Coast Guard to respect human lives and abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international laws governing safe maritime travel,” Zubiri said.
Sen. Francis Tolentino said the collision shows Beijing’s total disrespect for international law and basic maritime safety.
He said the incident should be investigated by international courts so China can be made accountable for such acts.
At the House, Rep. France Castro (PL, AC) condemned China for escalating its aggression in the West Philippine Sea, this time resulting in the collision.
“China’s aggression in the WPS is getting out of hand and this will worsen in the next days if there will be no decisive action done like filing another case against it or bringing the matter to the United Nations General Assembly and pushing for the passage of a UNGA resolution,” she said in Filipino. — With Raymond Africa, Wendell Vigilia, and Reuters
