The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday said it will bolster its presence near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea after the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons at boats carrying food, water and fuel, and other supplies to Filipino troops stationed there.
National Task Force on West Philippine Sea spokesperson PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela said they would consider sending more vessels to escort resupply missions.
“We can also consider deploying the 97-meter vessel or the 83-meter vessel for us to have a much bigger boat to support the resupply mission,” he said.
Tarriela also said that the PCG is requesting a higher intelligence fund, which has been pegged at P10 million a year in the last 15 years.
“With the magnitude of the function of the coast guard, not to mention the maritime safety and the maritime environmental protection, it is important for the Philippine Coast Guard to receive a larger intelligence fund to support our operations,” Tarriela said, urging Congress “to add some zeroes in our intelligence funds.”
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea by its discredited nine-dash line and has ignored a 2016 international court ruling that its expansive claims have no legal basis.
Ayungin Shoal is about 200 kilometers from the mainland Palawan province and more than 1,000 kilometers from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
China’s Ambassador Huang Xilian accused the Philippines of repeatedly taking unilateral actions “to undermine the existing status quo” on Ayungin Shoal.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had summoned Huang on Monday to protest the water cannon incident and the Chinese Coast Guard’s dangerous maneuvers against Filipino vessels in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said a note verbale was sent to Huang in connection with the water cannon incident.
The PCG vessels were escorting boats chartered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to deliver food, water, fuel, and other supplies to military troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre, which has been beached on Ayungin Shoal.
The ship manned by more than a dozen Marines and sailors has become a symbol of Philippine sovereignty in the offshore territory.
China on Monday accused the Philippines of seeking to “permanently occupy” Ayungin Shoal and again raised its demand that the BRP Sierra Madre be removed.
However, the PCG on Tuesday said the BRP Sierra Madre in the West Philippine Sea is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (see banner story — Editors).
In 2013, the Philippines challenged China’s legal basis for its vast claim in the South China Sea before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands. Manila won the case in a landmark award in 2016 after the tribunal invalidated Beijing’s assertions.
China has ignored and belittled the ruling, maintaining an “indisputable” and “historical” claim over nearly the entire waters despite widespread international support for the Philippines.
China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday night maintained that it has territorial sovereignty, maritime rights, and interests in the whole South China Sea, saying the 2016 Arbitral Ruling “was a pure political drama staged in the name of law.”
“The so-called award contravenes international laws, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), and is illegal, null and void,” China’s Foreign Ministry said, without elaborating which part of the international law was violated.
UNCLOS sets the limitation of a country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The 2016 arbitral ruling affirmed the Philippines’ territorial integrity over the West Philippine Sea, which is part of its EEZ.
Beijing also accused the US of sowing confusion and discord in the region as it “attacked China’s legitimate and lawful actions at sea aimed at safeguarding its rights and enforcing the law.”
The statement that Washington released after the incident “also voiced support for the Philippines’ unlawful, provocative behavior,” China’s Foreign Ministry said.
“China firmly opposes the statement. For some time, the US has been inciting and supporting the Philippines’ attempts to overhaul and reinforce its military vessel that was deliberately grounded on Ren’ai Jiao,” it said, using the Chinese name for the shoal.
“The US has been brazenly bolstering the Philippines as it infringes upon China’s sovereignty, but those moves will not succeed,” it added.
Japan and South Korea have expressed concerns about Beijing’s aggression and said they are now taking action to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
This came as Japan on Tuesday extended a 1.1-billion yen (P432 million) grant to the Philippines to allow the PCG to procure a state-of-the-art Satellite Data Communication System.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko said the initiative is expected to improve PCG’s maritime domain awareness and maritime law enforcement capabilities.
He said the program could also contribute to the Philippines’ economic and social development and the strengthening of cooperation in the Sulu-Celebes Sea.
“In light of the situation in the South China Sea, this is a very timely cooperation that will enable the decision makers of the Philippine government here in Manila to grasp in real time the situation offshore,” Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko said.
“Moreover, this will be extremely effective in terms of crisis management and response,” he added.
Japan also committed to continue its cooperation with the Philippines to enhance its security “to build back better societies” as it also recently called “totally unacceptable” China’s recent water cannon attack against Philippine personnel.
China’s immediate neighbor, South Korea, also expressed deep concern about Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea.
“On the recent use of water cannons against the Philippine Coast Guard vessels in the South China Sea, the ROK Embassy in the Philippines is concerned about the actions that raise tensions in these waters,” it said.
“The embassy reaffirms its support for peace, stability, and rules-based order in the South China Sea, as an important international sea lane of communications, and for the freedom of navigation and overflight based on the principles of international law, including UNCLOS,” it said.
The French Embassy in Manila, meanwhile, reiterated its support for the 2016 Arbitral Ruling, which had invalidated China’s sweeping claims under the so-called nine-dash line over the sea lane.
“France expresses its deep concern about the dangerous maneuvers carried out by Chinese coastguard vessels in the South China Sea,” it said.
“It reiterates its support for international law and the UNCLOS, and recalls the decision handed down by the Court of Arbitration in 2016 concerning the South China Sea,” it added.
In a press conference on Monday, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said the incident “clearly” undermines efforts to enhance China-Philippine relations.
“[W]e hope that they do value the relations with the Philippines. But clearly, this incident undermines efforts to strengthen mutual trust and confidence — crucial elements in friendly relations among states, between our countries, and it does provide tension in our bilateral relations,” she said.