A senator on Wednesday called for an investigation into how the Philippines is tightening its grip on its South China Sea territory, after the Coast Guard released footage of a standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships in disputed waters a day earlier.
The video showed a convoy of Philippine ships bypassing the Chinese Coast Guard on a resupply mission to a remote military post on Aiyun Jiao (Ren’ai Jiao) in the Spratly Islands.
two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan escorted the convoy.They rendezvoused with civilian ships contracted by the military on Monday before setting off for ayungin bk. Commander Jay Talila said the next day.
A PCG spokesman disputed China’s assertion that its ships allowed the resupply mission to proceed peacefully, saying that when the Philippine vessel came within 2.5 nautical miles of reaching the shoal, “we experienced four Chinese coast guard ships backed by four Chinese maritime militiamen. dangerous maneuvers”.
“They took a different approach to separate the Philippine Coast Guard from the supply boats to be able to stop them from going into the shallows,” Tariela told reporters.
Also on Wednesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros claimed that the People’s Republic of China continued to militarize parts of the West Philippine Sea in defiance of international condemnation. Manila uses this name to refer to the waters of the South China Sea within its borders.
In a speech to the Senate, Hontiveros says “To assist legislation to conduct investigations, the Philippine Coast Guard is further empowered and empowered to carry out its primary mission of enforcing Philippine law and safeguarding national sovereignty in the country’s maritime areas, particularly the West Philippine Sea. “
She said China’s actions had resulted in “uThis poses an unprecedented challenge to the Philippine Coast Guard’s main mission of enforcing Philippine laws, safeguarding national sovereignty, and safeguarding important national interests.
In Beijing on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry called on the Philippines to “immediately stop any actions that may complicate the situation on the ground.”
“I would like to stress that in response to the Philippines’ actions, the China Coast Guard has taken necessary law enforcement actions according to law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Tuesday’s incident follows an incident on tWhere the Chinese Coast Guard opened fire two weeks ago Water cannons At BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship was intentionally stranded by the Philippines as its military outpost on Ayungin Shoal.
this shoal It is about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the island of Palawan in the western Philippines, and more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan Island.
“Right now, it’s clear that China has its eyes on Ayungin Shoal. Water cannon, military lasers, removal of ship gun covers — all these serious provocations are directed at Philippine ships going to Ayungin,” Hontiveros told the Senate on Wednesday .
“China is actively blocking these missions because she does not want to further strengthen our most provocative marker of sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea – the BRP Sierra Madre.”
video
On Wednesday, Talila released a video showing a Chinese Coast Guard ship blocking a Philippine Coast Guard ship from entering the shallows.
The video showed that a second Chinese vessel had been deployed to intercept the Filipinos if they breached the first cordon.
“We have other videos showing our supply ship being intercepted by a Chinese coast guard ship and four Chinese maritime militiamen,” he said.
“Well, this time our plan was actually to outmaneuver the Chinese Coast Guard ships … and make sure the supply ships were able to get into the shallows,” Tariella said.
The Chinese ships issued radio challenges and warnings, saying Beijing has “indisputable sovereignty” over the waters, officials said. The Chinese ships said they allowed the passage of the Philippine coast guard and supply ships “in a humanitarian spirit”.
“[W]We don’t need permission from the People’s Republic of China, and the Ayungin Shoal is within our exclusive economic zone. We have sovereignty over these waters. “Tariela said. “Secondly, these aids are not humanitarian or extend humanitarian aid. “
On Tuesday, journalists traveling with the Philippine Coast Guard released photos of U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol and surveillance aircraft flying overhead during a resupply mission.
In Washington on Wednesday, Pentagon officials did not immediately respond to Bernal News’ request for comment on the flight. On Monday, U.S., Australian and Philippine troops held an air assault drill in the town of Rizal, Palawan province, on the western island, about 108 nautical miles from Ayungin Shoal.
BenarNews is an online news organization affiliated with RFA.
