DFA protests Ayungin bullying

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said it had summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy following the China Coast Guard’s use of water cannons, as well as dangerous maneuvers, against a Philippine vessel on a rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.

DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said Deputy Assistant Secretary Raphael Hermoso met with Zhou Zhiyong to convey the Philippines’ “strong protest” against the “aggressive actions” by the CCG.

Daza said the Philippine Embassy in Beijing has also been instructed to lodge the same demarche (formal protest) with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“In these demarches, the Philippines stressed, among other things, that China has no right to be at Ayungin Shoal, a low-tide elevation that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS and as affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award,” she said in a statement.

“China’s continued interference with the Philippines’ routine and lawful activities in its own exclusive economic zone is unacceptable. It infringes upon the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” she added.

Daza continued, “The Philippines demands that Chinese vessels leave the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal and the Philippine exclusive economic zone immediately.”

The National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea on Saturday reported yet another water cannon assault by the CCG on the Unaizah May 4, which caused damage and injuries to the resupply boat and its Filipino crew.

Daza recalled that Presidents Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Xi Jinping had agreed to lower the tension in the West Philippine Sea.

“China’s aggressive actions call into question its sincerity in lowering the tension and promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea,” she said.

“Even as the Philippines continues to engage China in dialogue and diplomacy at the bilateral and multilateral levels, China’s aggressive actions contradict and put to waste ASEAN-China efforts to promote practical activities to foster peace and cooperation in the region,” she said.

Furthermore, she stressed, China should “take the correct track of abiding by international law and respecting the legitimate rights of other states like the Philippines, and to cease and desist from its continued violation of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award.”

As of 25 March, Daza said, the Philippine government has sent a total of 14 notes verbale to China, including the latest protest made to the Chinese diplomat earlier in the day.

Telephone call

In a separate statement, Daza said Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro had a telephone call with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister chen Xiaodong.

She said that Lazaro “expressed the Philippines’ strongest protest against the aggressive actions undertaken by the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia against the rotation and resupply mission undertaken by the Philippines at Ayungin Shoal on 23 March 2024.”

At the same time, Daza said the DFA has expressed its gratitude to the international community for what she described as the “continued expressions of support for the Philippines and the defense of the international order based on international law.”

“To date, some 20 countries/partners have issued statements of support,” she said.

Among the countries that condemned the water cannon assault by the CCG were the United States, South Korea, Japan, France, Canada, Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.

For its part, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines confirmed the summoning of its official.

In a statement, the embassy said its official “lodged representations with the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines over the recent illegal trespassing by Philippine resupply vessels into waters adjacent to Ren’ai Jiao.”