AFP strikes back for Sierra Madre

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) special spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad (Ret.) hit back at China over its territorial claims covering nearly the entirety of the East and South China Seas, as well as its statements regarding the presence of the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal.

Trinidad accused China of attempting to “rewrite history” while overlooking what the military described as Beijing’s own record of deceptive narratives in the West Philippine Sea.

“The AFP rejects the recent statement from the Chinese Embassy in Manila attempting to rewrite history regarding the presence of the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) speaks of ‘promises’ and ‘demands.’ Yet, it very easily forgets its own track record of deceptive narratives in our waters,” Trinidad said in a statement sent to the Daily Tribune late Saturday.

Trinidad cited China’s occupation of Panganiban Reef, or Mischief Reef, in 1995 as an example of what he described as Beijing’s misleading assurances.

“Let us look back to 1995 when the CCP first illegally occupied Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) — a feature within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone). It is on record that their foreign ministry leadership assured the Philippines and the international community that the small, octagonal wooden structures built on stilts were merely ‘shelters for local fishermen’ and explicitly promised that these temporary structures possessed no military purpose,” Trinidad said.

“Today, those “shelters” have been transformed into a fortified, 550-hectare military airbase complete with a 3,000-meter runway, missile emplacements, radar domes and naval berths.

Mischief Reef stands as a permanent, concrete monument to their deceptive strategy in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

Trinidad emphasized that “unlike their illegal island-building and militarization of low-tide elevations inside our EEZ, the presence of the BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal is a lawful, permanent sovereign deployment on a feature over which we exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”