DFA stands by PCG account of incident contrary to Beijing’s version
The Philippines and China on Thursday traded statements and barbs on the Chinese Coast Guard’s use of alleged military-grade laser lights against local ships in the West Philippine Sea.
Chinese officials said its ships did not do so, even as the Philippine Coast Guard criticized the denials and the Department of Foreign Affairs stood by the PCG account of the encounter during a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Chinese Foreign Minister spokesman Wang Wenbin issued a statement disputing the Philippine Coast Guard account after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian on Wednesday to express his concern over the latest incident.
The spokesman said the Chinese envoy “provided the facts and China’s principled position on that.”
China stood its ground that it “did not direct lasers” at the crew of the PCG vessel BRP Malapascua at Ayungin Shoal last week, with Wang saying the handheld laser device meant to check speed and intended for navigation safety “does not inflict damage.”
In a transcript sent by the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Wednesday, Wang narrated China’s side on the incident last Feb. 6 at the Ayungin Shoal, where BRP Malapascua was headed on a resupply mission to the marooned BRP Sierra Madre.
Wang asserted China’s “indisputable sovereignty” in the Spratly Islands chain, known in China as Nansha Islands, including the Ayungin Shoal or Renai Reef in China, saying the China Coast Guard “was compelled to respond in accordance with law and warned” the PCG ship to leave.
“During that process, the China Coast Guard ship used a hand-held laser speed detector and hand-held greenlight pointer to measure the distance and speed of the Philippine vessel and signal directions to ensure navigation safety,” Wang statement stated.
“We need to highlight the fact that the China Coast Guard ship did not direct lasers at the Philippine crew, and the hand-held equipment does not inflict damage on anything or anyone on the vessel. The Philippine side’s allegation does not reflect the truth,” it said.
However, the DFA said the Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5205 interfered and directed a “military-grade laser that caused temporary blindness to Filipino crew members” onboard the PCG ship.
In an interview on ANC, PCG adviser for maritime security Cmdr. Jay Tarriela also rejected the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s claim.
“It’s important to note that their vessels already have radar. Why would you do that, right? Why would you point those lasers at the crew of the [Philippine] Coast Guard vessel?” Tarriela said.
“The mere fact that our crew reported that they experienced that temporary loss of vision… is something that is not a made-up story,” he added.
The DFA stood by the PCG account, as spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said: “As far as the DFA is concerned, we have no reason to doubt the PCG’s account of the incident.”
Daza said the DFA told China that the BRP Malapascua was undertaking legitimate activities within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that the Chinese Coast Guard’s actions, which included “shadowing, harassment, and dangerous maneuvers,” put the Filipino vessel and its crew in danger.
“Our focal person expressed the Philippines’ disappointment over the incident and called on China to refrain from committing such actions in the future,” Daza said.
The Chinese focal person, Daza noted, had asked for the two states to “work together to implement (the) consensus” reached by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month during the Philippine leader’s state visit.
In response, Daza said: “While we agree that we should continue working together, we hope that the Chinese side will reciprocate our efforts and refrain from committing actions that do not in any way positively contribute to our relations.”
The United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom had earlier voiced support for the Philippines’ diplomatic protest and asked China to respect international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Under the UNCLOS, a coastal state has the “sovereign rights” to explore and exploit, as well as conserve and manage both living and non-living resources within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ.
China insists it has “indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratly Islands chain, despite a UN tribunal’s ruling in 2016 that dismissed its excessive claims over the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Wang also downplayed the 2016 Hague ruling on the South China Sea, calling it “illegal, null, and void” as China accused the United States of using it as a geopolitical tool.
“We would also like to point out that the South China Sea arbitration case brought by the Philippines was pure political drama orchestrated by the US,” the spokesperson said in a press conference Tuesday.
“The US invokes its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines at every turn in an attempt to intimidate China, but it will not weaken our resolve and will to safeguard China’s legitimate and lawful rights and interests,” he added.
But the Chinese official also stressed that China stands ready to work with the Philippines in holding “friendly consultations” to handle their maritime issues and ensure peace and stability in the region.
“The diplomatic service and coast guards on both sides are in communication through bilateral liaison mechanisms,” Wang said.
“We stand ready to work with the Philippine side to fully deliver on the important common understandings reached between the two presidents, continue to properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultation and jointly uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said.
The latest incident highlights the simmering tensions between the two countries and pushed the United States to call out China’s aggressive stance in the resource-rich region by a warning to invoke the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
China claims the entire South China Sea, including territorial waters claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
On Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador to Huang met with Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Andres Centino to discuss “peace, security and stability in the region.”
In a Facebook post, Huang revealed that he paid a courtesy visit to Centino at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
The meeting took place on Wednesday, Feb. 15, after China aimed a military-grade laser at a PCG vessel last week.
Huang said he had a “cordial and constructive” meeting with Centino.
“We discussed matters pertaining to mil(itary) to mil(itary) exchange and cooperation as well as sustaining peace and stability in the region,” the Chinese envoy said.
Huang also shared photos of their meeting in Camp Aguinaldo.
The meeting came after Huang was summoned to the Palace by President Marcos.
Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto said President Marcos deserves praise for standing up against Chinese bullying in the country’s own backyard.
Summoning the Chinese ambassador to Malacanang “is a gutsy response to gunboat diplomacy,” Recto said.
“To the world, the President’s move shone a spotlight on the correctness of our position, more powerful than the laser show that the Chinese boats put up to manifest their baseless claim,” he said.
The fact that many countries followed suit in condemning China showed that the “President used a non-confrontational tool that enlightens the civilized world better than lasers,” he said.
Recto added that Marcos summoning the Chinese ambassador “was worth more than the reams of diplomatic protests that DFA has been regularly lodging against China.”
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano urged the government to strengthen and simplify its strategy in dealing with issues on the West Philippine Sea, saying the latest skirmish with China as reported by the Philippine Coast Guard is just “a symptom” of a more complicated underlying problem.
“We should not tolerate any form of aggression,” he said.
“The skirmishes and the problems we are seeing, those are signs,” said Cayetano, who was briefly Foreign Secretary under President Rodrigo Duterte. “Let us go to the heart of the problem and find a framework.”
He noted that other countries that have dispute issues in the West Philippine Sea like Malaysia and Vietnam have already strengthened their national strategies, including diplomacy, and strengthening their armed forces and alliances with other countries.
In contrast, the Philippines has been changing its policies with each new administration, the senator said.