Marcos orders probe into collision incident off Ayungin Shoal

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has tasked the Philippine Coast Guard to conduct a probe into the latest incident in the West Philippine Sea where a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel collided with a Philippine resupply boat off Ayungin Shoal.

Marcos called for a command conference to discuss China's latest violation in the resource-rich region, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Monday.

"He instructed the Philippine Coast Guard to conduct an investigation, as mandated by international maritime laws, into the events that transpired during the RORE mission to Ayungin Shoal by vessels of the China Coast Guard," the PCO said.

"The incident, brought about by dangerous, illegal, and reckless maneuvers by vessels of the China Coast Guard, caused damage to a Philippine vessel within our exclusive economic zone and is being taken seriously at the highest level of government," the PCO added. 

In a separate press briefing, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said that the President called for a special command conference with the national security and defense cluster so that he could be briefed over the incident.

Teodoro condemned the latest collision incident, saying that "this is a serious escalation of the illegal activities conducted by the Chinese government in the West Philippine Sea, in complete disregard of any norm or convention of international law."

"The Philippine government views the latest aggression by China as a blatant violation of international law," Teodoro said.

"China has no legal right or authority to conduct law enforcement operations in our territorial waters and in our exclusive economic zone. We are taking this incident seriously at a highest level of government," he added.

Philippine Coast Guard commandant Rear Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said he already issued a directive to the PCG - Palawan to conduct maritime incident investigation immediately.

"We will focus in determining the extent of damage or damages done or incurred by the vessels involved. But at this point, it is very very clear that the two incidents are violations of collision regulations, the very regulation that we, Coast Guard, are expected to enforce," Gavan said.

"We find it unfortunate and ironic that a fellow Coast Guard will violate the law where they themselves are supposed to enforce," he added.

Philippine government officials said the collision occurred on Sunday while two Philippine supply boats escorted by two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels were heading to Ayungin Shoal to deliver food and other supplies to the grounded Philippine warship BRP Sierra Madre.

The Philippines maintains a small navy personnel on BRP Sierra Madre to guard the shoal, which is located 105.77 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan and constitutes part of the country's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf as provided under a United Nations convention.

National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año has said the Philippines will not be deterred in its resupply efforts in the West Philippine Sea despite the collision incidents with China.

"We will not be deterred, and we will continue to resupply our troops in BRP Sierra Madre despite provocations," said Año.

Blaming the Philippines for the collision, China denied Manila's allegations, saying the supply vessel "trespassed" into Chinese waters "without authorization" despite repeated radio warnings to leave.

Philippines summons Chinese envoy

Earlier on Monday, the Department of  Foreign Affairs said it has summoned the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines following the incident.

"We are making full use of diplomatic processes and are exercising all possible actions available to us, that includes summoning the Chinese ambassador this morning," DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said at a news conference.

A strongly-worded diplomatic protest enumerated the CCG's violations after hitting two Philippine vessels and expressed Manila's displeasure and deep  concern over the incident.

"We have every right to carry out legitimate activities in our maritime zones. We do not accept any form of interference," Daza said, adding that China, as a big country, should be responsible in contributing to the peace and stability in the region.

The Philippines also repeated its call for China to stop "provocative actions," warning that its attempts to block Manila's resupply missions to a disputed atoll in the West Philippine Sea could have "disastrous results."

Several near-collisions with Chinese ships and other dangerous maneuvers by its coast guard against Filipino vessels have frequently occurred during routine Philippine resupply missions to the shoal, which is being claimed by China as part of its territory.

Sunday's incident was the first time Philippine officials reported that a Filipino resupply boat was rammed by a Chinese ship. No Filipino crew member was reported injured. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News