A CHINESE warship pointed a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship near a Philippine-occupied reef in the West Philippine Sea last February, a military commander revealed yesterday.
Vice Adm. Rene Medina, commander of the AFP’s Western Command in Puerto Princesa City, disclosed the information a day after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he lodged two protests against China, one of for the February incident.
On Tuesday night, Locsin said two diplomatic protests were sent to the Chinese embassy, one for a Chinese warship pointing a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship, and for declaring parts of the Philippine territory as part of Hainan province, which he said are violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty.
Malacanang defended the diplomatic protest, saying the country would continue to defend the country’s interest and sovereignty regardless if there is COVID-19 pandemic or none.
Medina said Patrol Ship 39 or BRP Condrado Yap, a corvette donated by South Korea last August, was dispatched on February 15 to conduct territorial defense operations and sovereignty patrol at the Malampaya Natural Gas to Power Project and at the disputed West Philippines Sea.
Two days later, while on the way to the military’s detachment at Rizal Reef, Medina said BRP Condrado Yap detected a “radar contact of a gray colored vessel,” a Chinese Navy corvette with bow number 514.
Medina said BRP Condrado Yap issued a radio challenge to inform the Chinese they are in Philippine territory. He said the Chinese ship responded by saying “the Chinese government has (indisputable) sovereignty over the South China Sea, its islands and its adjacent waters.”
“PS39 again challenged the vessel and then instructed (the Chinese vessel) to proceed directly to its next destination. That (Chinese) vessel repeated its response and maintained her course and speed,” said Medina.
Medina said the two ships continued their respective voyage after the incident.
Medina said the Philippine Navy “was able to visually observe that the Gun Control Director, equipment that gives information in obtaining a fire control solution of said PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) vessel was directed towards PS39.
“This Gun Control Director can be used to designate and track targets and makes all the main guns ready to fire in under a second,” Medina said.
Quoting the Joint Task Force West, Medina said BRP Condrado Yap has no electronic support measures to confirm the Gun Control Director was directed at the Philippine Navy ship, stressing “visual identification confirms this hostile action.”
“This hostile act on the part of Chinese Government and encroachment within the Philippines’ EEZ (exclusive economic zone) is perceived as a clear violation of international law and Philippine sovereignty,” said Medina.
Medina said Wescom will continue to perform its duty “and will never be intimidated nor let our guards down in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the Philippines and will support any future capability upgrade of our ships patrolling our Philippine waters.”
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said: “Alam ninyo po iyong filing of diplomatic protest, ginagawa po iyan basta kinakailangang gawin. Ke may COVID, ke wala… tayo po ay mananatili na poprotektahan at itataguyod ang ating national territory at ang ating sovereign rights (“The filing of diplomatic protest is done if that is needed. Whether there is COVID or none, we will continue to protect and promote our national territory and our sovereign rights),” he said.
Roque also expressed hope that China would not engage in any reclamation activity and cease such actions if any. He said China has promised the Philippines that it will not conduct new reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea.
Last week, Roque described China as the Philippines’ “BFF” (best friend forever) and expressed hope the Chinese government would prioritize helping the country if its finds a vaccine for the coronavirus.
China has been donating medical supplies to the country and even sent a team of medical experts recently to help the Philippines in its fight against the deadly virus. — With Jocelyn Montemayor