PH: Latest Ayungin incident China’s deliberate act

This screenshot posted by the AFP shows China Coast Guard personnel wielding bladed weapons and "threatening to injure AFP troops during the humanitarian rotation and resupply mission at BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal" on June 17, 2024. Image posted by the AFP on its Facebook account

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Monday the June 17 incident in Ayungin Shoal between the Philippine troops and China Coast Guard was not a misunderstanding.

Teodoro said the Philippine government is not downplaying the incident.

He said what transpired was an aggressive and illegal use of force by the Chinese forces.

''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. After our visit to our troops in Palawan yesterday, where the President personally talked to the troops involved in the RORE, we have now come to a conclusion that it was not a misunderstanding or an accident,'' Teodoro said during a Palace briefing.

''We are not downplaying the incident. It was an aggressive and illegal use of force,'' he added.

Teodoro said the Philippine government would continue to find peaceful solutions as regards the issue.

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the Ayungin incident could still not be considered as an armed attack as the latter could be defined as the use of military force or an excessive use of force that could trigger collective self defense.

''Even doon sa Article 51 ng UN Charter, at saka sa MDT (Mutual Defense Treaty) hindi siya magpo-fall sa definition ng armed attack. But the PRC violates a lot of international and domestic laws including use of illegal force, violation of... Convention on Collision at Sea at SOLAS, International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea at saka Declaration of Conduct, dapat doon lahat ng member states should exercise self restraint and always opt the use of peaceful means to settle disputes,'' he explained.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has confirmed that a Philippine Navy serviceman was severely hurt in a collision between a Chinese ship and a Filipino vessel performing rotation and resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal.

Despite a Filipino sailor losing his thumb, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin earlier said the incident was not an armed attack, but a misunderstanding or accident.

Presidential Assistant for Maritime Concerns Andres Centino, meanwhile, said that invoking the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) is not yet being considered despite the June 17 incident in Ayungin Shoal.

Centino, however, said the Philippine government is concerned with the incident.

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. had said the country will not use force or intimidation or deliberately inflict injury or harm to anyone amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos said the country is not in the business to instigate wars as ''our great ambition is to provide a peaceful and prosperous life for every Filipino.''

The President also commended the 80 soldiers who took part in the June 17 RORE mission. He conferred the Order of Lapu-Lapu Rank of Kampilan on Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo, and the Order of Lapu-Lapu Rank of Kamagi to 79 other military personnel who took part in the mission.

Meanwhile, the Association of General and Flag Officers (AGFO) commended the heroic and professional conduct of the Philippine Navy officers and men during the RORE mission.

''In spite of escalatory actions of China seagoing elements in [the] West Philippine Sea, our navy personnel exercised extreme caution and unequalled patience to successfully complete their mission amidst undue harassment and risk of physical harm,'' the AGFO said in a press statement.—AOL, GMA Integrated News

This article PH: Latest Ayungin incident China’s deliberate act was originally published in GMA News Online.