Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri on Sunday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to send Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian back to China amid increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea.
This, after the China Coast Guard blasted a water cannon at Philippine vessels for two consecutive days in separate parts of the West Philippine Sea.
"I urge President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. to send the current Chinese Ambassador home. He has done nothing to address the continued attacks of his government on our troops and our people," Zubiri said in a statement.
On Sunday, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported that the China Coast Guard fired a water cannon to obstruct the country's resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, seriously damaging one of its ships' engines in the process.
The NTF-WPS said CCG and Chinese militia vessels "harassed, blocked, and executed dangerous maneuvers on Philippine civilian vessels, in another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission to BRP Sierra Madre at Avungin Shoal."
The incident happened just a day after the CCG blasted a water cannon at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc.
The BFAR ships were en route in a resupply mission to bring supplies to Filipino fishermen in the area.
Zubiri denounced the twin water cannon blasting incidents in the West Philippine Sea.
"I strongly condemn the latest attack of Chinese ships on Philippine government vessels in the West Philippine Sea," he said.
The Senate president said China's aggressive actions towards Philippine vessels en route to a resupply mission in the areas depict China being "heartless."
"The Philippine vessels that were attacked by water cannons are from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and they were providing supplies to Filipino fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal," he said.
"This time, China not only caused us great damage to property but they also put Filipino lives at risk," he added.
It continued: "This was a humanitarian mission, and still China chose to attack them. They have no heart."
Zubiri also slammed China for "deliberately damaging" Philippine vessels and "endangering" the lives of Filipino troops.
"They have gone from unlawfully blocking us from navigating our own waters to now deliberately damaging our vessels and endangering the lives of our people," he said.
This is not the first time CCG attempted to block and harass resupply missions by the Philippines. In August, the CCG also used a water cannon and carried out dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels led by the Philippine Coast Guard while en route for a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre.