The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) lamented the shift in China’s aggressive tactics in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), following the attempted ramming of a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel by a ship from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy near the Scarborough Shoal.

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, AFP Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. shared the military's assessment of the ramming incident between a People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship and a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) on Monday, saying it appeared to be a deliberate attempt to hit the Philippine Coast Guard vessel. 

“Yung insidente, kitang kita doon yung aggressive tactic ng China, ang assessment natin doon — ay yung PLA Navy ship ay talagang ang objective niya ay talagang i-ram yung barko yung ating Philippine Coast Guard. Yung din ang assessment ng ating PCG (In the incident, China’s aggressive tactic was really visible there; it was clear that the objective of the PLA Navy ship was to ram our PCG vessel. That was also the assessment of the PCG on the ground,” Brawner told reporters.

“Mabuti na lang at mabilis ang ating coast guard naiwasan niya yung PLA Navy at Chinese Coast Guard. At nang yung nangyari, dalawang Chinese vessels and nagkabanggaan (It’s a good thing that our coast guard was abrupt to avoid the PLA Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard — and that’s what happened, the collision of two Chinese vessels,” he added. 

According to Brawner, China’s presence in the disputed waters, particularly through the deployment of PLA Navy warships — something previously unseen at this level of intensity around Scarborough Shoal.

“Nakita natin na nagbago ang taktika ng China. Sa ngayon ay nag-deploy na sila ng kanilang PLA Navy at isa itong simbolo ng pagiging agresibo ng China (We’ve seen what happened, the China’s change in tactics. Now that they deployed their PLA Navy, it symbolizes China’s aggression),” he said. 

“Sinabi nila na tayo daw ang nagngugulo doon sa West Philippine Sea pero kitang-kita natin kahapon doon sa nangyari na sila ang nanggugulo (They accused us of provocation in the West Philippine Sea, but it was clear in the incident yesterday that they are causing trouble) because they continue to claim Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal as their own territory,” he continued. 

Brawner stressed the Philippines will continue to assert its sovereign rights over the area, backed by international law, including the 2016 arbitral ruling which invalidated China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim. 

“Hindi naman tayuong pwedeng pumayag d’yan dahil backed up tayo ng batas, ng UNCLOS at ng 2016 Arbitral Ruling na sinasabing walang basehan yung nine dash line ng China so hindi nila pwedeng angkinin ang Bajo de Masinloc (We cannot allow that because we are backed up by laws, by the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Ruling that says China’s nine-dash line has no basis, so they cannot claim the Bajo de Masinloc),” he said.

Scarborough Shoal, known locally as Bajo de Masinloc, is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fisherfolk.

“Nandoon lang po tayo dahil pinoproketahan natin yung mga mangingisdang Filipino na nadoon sa Scarborough shoal. Yun lang po pakay natin na pwedeng mangisda yung mga Pilipino sa Scarborough Shoal dahil traditional fishing ground natin yun (We are there to protect our people—our fishermen in  Scarborough Shoal. That’s the only purpose of our presence in Scarborough Shoal) because that’s our traditional fishing ground.

Brawner said the recent incident also rekindles memories of the 2012 standoff, where both countries agreed to withdraw their naval forces from Scarborough Shoal. 

The Philippines complied, he noted, while China did not, instead effectively taking control of the shoal.

“Sumunod tayo sa usapan ano. Sila hindi sila sumunod (We kept our end of the bargain. They didn’t. So it's really a violation of the agreement that we had in 2012. Tayo, we keep the moral high ground. Yan po ang utos ng ating Pangulo. We keep the moral high ground, and we do not use aggressive tactics,” Brawner said. 

Brawner lamented that the AFP does not resort to aggressive tactics.

“Hinahayaan natin yung China, pwede tayong magprotesta, pero sa ngayon na nandun na yung Navy nila so ibang usapan na ‘yun (We’re allowing China, we can protest, but now that their Navy is already there, that’s a different matter.