(UPDATES) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must first approve any public announcements of resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, an official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday.
Speaking during a news forum, Commo. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), clarified that the policy recommendation mentioned by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Friday was that “we will be announcing the routine resupply operations subject to the approval of our President.”
Bersamin heads the National Maritime Council (NMC), which was created by President Marcos last March.
The dilapidated Sierra Madre ship of the Philippine Navy is anchored near Ayungin shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) with Filipino soldiers on-board to secure perimeter in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, 11 May 2015. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO / POOL
The executive secretary said on Friday that the President accepted the recommendation of the council “to publicize the schedule for activities without giving up anything.”
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For his part, Tarriela said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and PCG would be working together for the conduct of future resupply missions.
“Our resupply operations will continue to be conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard, with the agencies under the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said.
“Second, this resupply operation remains to be considered as an ordinary, legitimate and routine operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Tarriela said, referring to the June 17 incident where several Philippine Navy personnel were injured in a clash with the China Coast Guard (CCG) that blocked the resupply mission to the Sierra Madre.
He further reiterated that the PCG did not announce the details of the most recent resupply mission because it was conducted “purely” by the AFP.
“So as to the details, as to how it’s going to be conducted, those are details that have not yet been decided,” said Tarriela.
He said there was no reason to interpret the last mission conducted in Ayungin Shoal as an “armed attack” after videos surfaced online showing China Coast Guard personnel wielding axes and knives and harassing Filipino troops.
“Well, we have to understand that the Philippine government intends to conduct a resupply mission for its troops. The mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines during that resupply mission was to provide supply to our troops in BRP Sierra Madre and also to rotate the personnel assigned there,” said Tarriela.
“At the same time, of course, on the part of the People’s Republic of China, they intend to prevent the resupply operation from being successful. So, there is no reason to interpret that it was an armed attack,” he added.
Tarriela said that the only thing the CCG did was puncture the rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) used during the mission.
“There is absolutely no intention to say face-to-face that we will hurt each other or use your ax or knife to wrestle with our soldiers. It was even explained that the reason why one of our soldiers was injured was because of a ramming incident, a high-speed ramming incident between the RHIB and the RHIB of the Chinese coast guard,” he said.
“To our fellow Filipinos, we should not interpret this as something that will result in a large-scale war. No. So, we have to go back: What is the objective of the Philippine government here, and what is the objective of China? Again, our objective is to resupply, the Chinese’s objective is to prevent the resupply from happening. This is the only thing that happened there, in that resupply mission. There is no intention of any country to have large-scale armed aggression in this incident,” he said.
Return to dialogue
Meanwhile, China urged the Philippines to “return to the right track of dialogue and consultation” in managing disputes.
China issued the statement through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), a day after it warned the Philippines against “making provocations and infringing on China’s sovereignty or bear the consequences.”
Foreign Minister Lin Jian said China has repeatedly pointed out that the Philippines had been supplying construction materials, weapons and ammunition to be used to repair and reinforce the boat on a large scale to occupy the area permanently.
Lin Jian said China viewed these actions as “a severe violation of its sovereignty and asserted that it would respond firmly according to laws and regulations.”
Lin Jian said that the current situation at Ren’ai Jiao (Ayungin Shoal) was the result of the Philippines’ failure to fulfill its commitments.
Despite the vessel being illegally grounded for 25 years, the Philippines has continued to send construction materials to reinforce it, leading to the present state of affairs.
He said this warship stood as solid evidence of the Philippines’ “persistent provocations and infringement against China in the South China Sea over the decades, its bad faith, and its breach of the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and its damage to the eco-environment in the South China Sea.”
Earlier this month, Senate President Francis Escudero said cooler heads must prevail over the escalating Philippine-China face-off in the WPS.
“I hope our country won’t hit back. No one wants any war to [erupt] in our region, especially if the battleground is our country. Imminent war is another matter if it happens in our land. I hope this heat will subside, and the dialogue will continue,” Escudero said.
Firmly believing in the power of dialogue, he emphasized that this peaceful approach was a viable solution and the key to resolving the territorial disputes in the WPS.
“Ultimately, the important thing is that we stand united in not giving up sovereignty over those islands and oceans. But I still firmly believe that the [conflict can be resolved] through dialogue and should not lead to a war between our country and China and other countries,” the Senate chief said.
Escudero reminded Filipinos that the territorial dispute in the WPS was not exclusive to the Philippines and China.
“Our adversary, or competitor, or rival in the West Philippine Sea includes Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and other Southeast Asian countries, but it seems that our attention is mostly focused on the Chinese,” he said in an interview.
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