China harasses Phl vessels — Fires water cannon at resupply mission; protest filed

The Philippines on Friday slammed China's most recent aggression in the West Philippine Sea, where it reportedly harassed and fired a water cannon on resupply boats en route to a remote military outpost on Ayungin Shoal.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said China Coast Guard ships, with the help of Chinese maritime militia, "recklessly harassed, blocked, and executed dangerous maneuvers" against Philippine resupply vessels en route to the BRP Sierra Madre at the shoal.

The government slammed China's latest aggressive attempt to "illegally impede and obstruct" the rotation and reprovisioning (RoRe) mission to the Filipino troops stationed at the landing ship outpost.

"CCG vessel 5203 deployed a water cannon against Philippine resupply vessel M/L Kalayaan in an illegal though unsuccessful attempt to force the latter to alter course," the NTF-WPS said in a statement.

Jonathan Malaya, National Security Council assistant director and NTF-WPS spokesperson, confirmed that the CCG vessel fired its water cannon at the Philippine resupply boat.

"When you say deployed, it means it was used. Therefore, the CCG vessel used its water cannon against the ML Kalayaan. I don't think there's any ambiguity," Malaya said in a text message.

Philippine authorities said the supply boats Unaizah Mae 1 and M/L Kalayaan were also subjected to extremely reckless and dangerous harassment at close proximity by CCG rigid-hulled inflatable boats inside the Ayungin Shoal lagoon as the vessels were approaching the BRP Sierra Madre.

However, both of the supply boats were able to "successfully reach" the remote outpost in the WPS.

Protest filed

"The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has filed a demarche with the Chinese foreign ministry and protested these actions," it said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs also reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and conveyed the Philippine protest "directly through the Maritime Communications Mechanism."

"We firmly insist that the Chinese vessels responsible for these illegal activities leave the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal immediately," the NTF-WPS said.

"We condemn once again China's latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine Philippine rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal that has put the lives of our people at risk," it added.

The Philippine government said China's continuing aggression at Ayungin Shoal establishes the insincerity of its calls for a peace dialogue.

"The systematic and consistent manner by which the People's Republic of China carries out these illegal and irresponsible actions puts into question and significant doubt the sincerity of its calls for a peaceful dialogue," it said.

The Philippines emphasized that it is only acting "responsibly" and consistent with the rules-based international order under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral ruling backing Manila's sovereign right over the WPS.

"Peace and stability cannot be achieved without due regard for the legitimate, well-established, and legally settled rights of others," the Philippines stressed.

Abuser, gaslighter

Senator Risa Hontiveros lambasted China's most recent aggression, describing the country as both an "abuser and gaslighter."

"It is unfortunate that while this recent incident is alarming, it is not entirely surprising. This pattern of abuse is one that China has mastered and will continue to follow without remorse," Hontiveros said.

She said China's vast and overwhelming claims in the entire South China Sea only increase tensions.

"At a time when tensions are high around the world, China's bullying only aggravates international relations. Instead of promoting peace, she seems to favor conflict," she said.

Reiterating the country's sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, Hontiveros said: "We in government must double down on our efforts to educate the public and campaign for the one and only truth: atin ang West Philippine Sea (the West Philippine Sea is ours)."

Senator Francis Tolentino said the latest "dangerous action" of the China Coast Guard "undermines the principle of maritime safety and poses a direct threat to international peace and security."

"The continuous breach by China of its obligations under international law covering maritime affairs is hard to explain, while its motivations may be clear," Tolentino said.

'China accuses Phl of intruding'

Meanwhile, China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yun once again accused the Philippines of intruding on their territory.

 "On 10 November, two small cargo ships and three coast guard ships from the Philippines trespassed into the adjacent waters of Ren'ai Jiao in China's Nansha Islands without the permission of the Chinese government," Gan's statement read.

China warned it will continue to enforce maritime actions over Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters.

"We urge the Philippine side to stop its infringement behavior immediately. The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out law enforcement activities in the waters under China's jurisdiction in accordance with the law and resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," Gan said.

The Philippines reiterated it "will not be deterred from exercising legal rights over our maritime zones, including Ayungin Shoal, which forms part of our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf."

"We demand that China demonstrate that it is a responsible and trustworthy member of the international community," it added.