DFA summons Chinese envoy over latest Ayungin incident

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday summoned China's deputy ambassador to protest the aggressive and dangerous moves undertaken by the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia against a Philippine routine resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal.

During the meeting, the DFA condemned China’s "interference with the Philippines’ routine and lawful activities in its own exclusive economic zone," calling their actions "unacceptable."

The Philippines said China’s actions Tuesday morning in Ayungin Shoal, also known internationally as Second Thomas Shoal, "infringes upon the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction."

A strongly-worded diplomatic protest was handed by Deputy Assistant Secretary Raphael Hermoso to China's Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong. In the diplomatic note, the DFA demanded all Chinese vessels to immediately leave the shoal's vicinity.

The tense confrontation between Philippine and Chinese vessels occurred  near Ayungin Shoal, where a World War II-era vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre, has been grounded since 1999.

The ship serves as a Philippine military outpost and has become a symbol of Philippine sovereignty.

Ayungin is 105.77 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan and constitutes part of the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as provided under a United Nations convention.

The Philippines decided in 1999 to deploy a permanent station on Ayungin Shoal in response to China’s illegal occupation of Panganiban Reef, also known as Mischief Reef, a Philippine territory, in 1995.

'Leave the vicinity'

"Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf," the DFA told the summoned Chinese diplomat.

"In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award, it cannot be appropriated for sovereignty claims. International law affirms that the Philippines exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the feature.”

"The Philippines demands that Chinese vessels leave the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal immediately," the DFA said.

Tuesday's incident, which coincided with a commemorative summit in Melbourne between Australia and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was the latest flareup in long-running territorial conflicts in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China.

It was also the first serious incident reported since diplomats from the Philippines and China held talks in Shanghai on Jan. 17 to deescalate tensions in the waters.

Other governments with overlapping claims to features in the resource-rich waters are Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Philippine officials said China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels "harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers in another attempt to illegally impede or obstruct a routine resupply and rotation mission to BRP Sierra Madre (LS 57) at Ayungin Shoal."

These resulted in the collision between Philippine and Chinese vessels.

"Throughout the operation, the PCG vessels faced dangerous maneuvers and blocking from Chinese Coast Guard vessels and Chinese Maritime Militia," PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said on X (formerly Twitter).

"Their reckless and illegal actions led to a collision between MRRV-4407 and China Coast Guard 21555 that resulted to minor structural damage to the PCG vessel," he added.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said four Filipinos were hurt after two China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels water cannoned a Philippine boat on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

In October last year, Philippine and Chinese vessels also collided in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal.

Support for the Philippines

The United States, the European Union, Japan and Australia condemned China's actions and expressed support for the Philippines.

China continues to claim ownership to nearly the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling that invalidated its massive claim. China has refused to recognize the ruling.

Parts of the South China Sea that falls within Philippine territory has been renamed by Manila as West Philippine Sea.

Chinese Embassy responds

Meanwhile the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines lodged representations with the DFA where it '"expressed strong protests over the illegal trespassing on Ren’ai Jiao (Ayungin Shoal) by Philippine vessels" in response to the March 5 incident.

In a statement, the embassy pointed out that the Philippine vessels ""intruded into the waters adjacent to the Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Islands without the permission of the Chinese government.

It claimed that the Philippines was attempting to deliver supplies, including construction materials to the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship it considers was "illegally grounded”.

In defense of its actions, the embassy said "the China Coast Guard took necessary regulatory actions on the Philippine vessels in accordance with the law."

"The response of China Coast Guard was professional, restrained, reasonable and lawful," the embassy claimed.

According to the embassy, China’s position on the issue of the Ren’ai Jiao is "consistent and clear".

"Over the past few months, China and the Philippines maintained communication on properly managing the situation on the Ren’ai Jiao," it said.

"The Philippines has once again reneged on its commitments to China, provoked incidents in the waters off the Ren’ai Jiao, and seriously violated China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the embassy stressed.

"China once again urges the Philippines to stop maritime provocations and refrain from taking any actions that may complicate the maritime situation. China will continue to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with domestic and international law," it added.— RSJ/RF, GMA Integrated News