AS IF mockery of the Filipino race isn’t enough, China has pulled another atrocity at the West Philippine Sea as Chinese Coast Guards attacked Filipino sailors at the Ayungin Shoal.
Citing reports from the Philippine Navy, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said that a China Coast Guard member struck the Filipino navy man on the head on July 20.
The confrontation took place near the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal. BRP Sierra Madre, which has been grounded for half a century, serves as the Philippines’ outpost in the West Philippine Sea.
According to the Philippine Navy, China Coast Guard personnel acted “violently and aggressively” — hitting a Filipino sailor with a wooden baton during an encounter. The Chinese Coast Guard, the Philippine Navy added, destroyed one of the Philippine boats.
The injured navy serviceman was given first aid and brought to an undisclosed infirmary for medical attention.
Despite the incident, the AFP maintained that the Philippine troops would continue lawful missions in the West Philippine Sea. The AFP described the incident as “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive.”
Following the incident, Philippine security officials took a swipe at China adding that the encounter was part of a broader pattern of harassment around Manila’s outpost in Ayungin Shoal.
The National Security Council condemned the actions of the China Coast Guard, calling them “violent and unlawful.”
“This latest act of aggression against personnel performing their lawful duties is unacceptable and serves only to heighten tensions and increase the risk of dangerous miscalculation at sea,” the NSC said.
The Department of National Defense also lashed at what it described as “the latest act of violence and harassment committed by the China Coast Guard against Philippine Navy personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre.”
The DND said the incident showed “a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior” and contributed to what it called China’s “deficit of trust and credibility.”
“Against the backdrop of the PRC’s circumvention of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and disregard of the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Ruling on the South China Sea, their actions further justify the Department’s position of disengagement,” the DND said.
“We simply cannot trust this belligerent neighbor,” it added.
The incident, the DND added, should strengthen the country’s resolve to build deterrence, shore up alliances and safeguard what is rightfully the Philippines’.
“As we continue to monitor and prepare measures to meet this aggression, the Department of National Defense salutes the defenders of BRP Sierra Madre and our western frontier. We will not back down.”
