By Brian Jules Campued
The Philippine government will file a protest against China following the recent harassment by China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels during a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday.
“Once again, we will make our objections known and hope that we can continue to communicate to find the way so that such actions are no longer seen in the West Philippine Sea (WPS),” Marcos told reporters in Melbourne before departing to the Philippines after the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.
While he reiterated his commitment to protect the country amid China’s recent aggression in the WPS, the President clarified that it is not enough to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States.
“However, we continue to view with great alarm this continuing dangerous maneuvers and dangerous actions that are being done against our seamen, our Coast Guard. And this time, they damaged [a] cargo ship and caused some injury to some of our seamen and I think that we cannot view this in any way but in the most serious way,” he added.
On Tuesday, four crew members of the Unaizah May 4 were injured after CCG vessels pounded the boat with water cannons which also shattered its windshield.
PCG’s BRP Sindangan also collided with a CCG vessel due to the latter’s dangerous maneuvers to obstruct a resupply and rotation mission to BRP Sierra Madre.
Meanwhile, Marcos said that the reported sightings of Chinese research vessels in the Philippine Rise was a clear intrusion of the country’s territory.
The Chief Executive remarked that if the ships are deployed for research purposes, the Philippines and China could have made an agreement regarding the matter.
“However, there is a suspicion that they are not only research vessel so, again, this is a bit of an escalation of the tension that is present in the West Philippines Sea,” he added. – avds
