‘This makes sense because, as they say, many cooks spoil the broth.’
NOW, we do not know who to believe.
This still about the June 17 incident near Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, during which two vessels of the Chinese Coast Guard sandwiched the resupply ship of the Philippine Navy which was then trying to deliver food, water and other basic necessities to the BRP Sierra Madre. One of the Chinese ships rammed the Navy craft, and the Chinese boarded the vessel, armed with bolos and axes, and confiscated the Navy men’s firearms.
The incident is by far the most serious among the confrontations we have had with the Chinese in that part of the South China Sea, and it elicited much condemnation from our officials.
Malacañang itself was totally peeved, especially after certain sectors of the population egged President Marcos Jr to take concrete steps other than just verbal condemnation.
A couple of days passed and Bongbong became busy with attending the inaugural of the biggest hotel in Metro Manila’s entertainment city.
Then on June 21, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin called a press conference in his capacity as head of the National Maritime Council. Bersamin, who speaks for the President, said the government did not consider the incident as an armed attack. In fact, it really was not an armed attack. The ES added it may be “a misunderstanding or an accident.”
It was reported that eight Filipino servicemen were injured during the June 17 incident. But the NMC clarified that only one was hurt – a Navy officer who lost one thumb when the Chinese vessel collided with the local one.
In fact, ES Bersamin said the Philippines is not elevating to a higher international body this latest Ayungin Shoal incident. The government has no plan to ask help from anyone outside the country, and Bersamin believes “this is a matter that can easily be resolved very soon by us. And if China wants to work with us, we can work with China.”
The Council recommended to the President the continuation of routinary and regular rotation and reprovision (RoRe) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal despite China’s provocative actions, with the added change that announcements about RoRe missions will be made before they are conducted.
The fact that announcements would be made confirms there was an agreement with China on when and how these resupply activities should be made. This puts to shame the boast of Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro that we are going there to bring food to our soldiers because the place is ours.
Sunday came and President Marcos visited the troops in the AFP Western Command in Palawan, the nearest PH military installation to Ayungin, gave the soldiers a pep talk and some awards and praises for their bravery. This was followed by Secretary Teodoro, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and the Department of Foreign Affairs releasing a statement that directly contradicts Bersamin’s pronouncements. The group said the government is not downplaying the recent incident.
“We see the latest incident in Ayungin not as a misunderstanding or an accident. It is a deliberate act of the Chinese officialdom to prevent us from completing our mission,” the statement said.
“We are not downplaying the incident. It was an act of aggressive and illegal use of force. We, however, continue to find peaceful solutions to this issue. As pointed out by the President, ‘we are not in the business to instigate wars,’” it added.
Here we go again… two groups of top government officials of the Marcos administration touting not only different, but opposing narratives, about the very important issue of the South China Sea dispute.
Senate President Francis Escudero, upon his assumption as chief of the Senate, suggested that there be only one spokesman on the SCS to avoid many interpretations of events. This makes sense because, as they say, many cooks spoil the broth.
