AFP to implement changes in WPS resupply missions — Brawner

Changes will be applied to the resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) after Filipino military personnel were injured in China's water cannon attack during the latest operation in Ayungin Shoal, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Wednesday.

AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. made the statement during a visit to the Western Command (Wescom) in Palawan on Tuesday.

In a statement, the AFP said, "As (General Brawner) checked the status of wounded personnel and awarded those who contributed in previous rotation and reprovisioning missions, the CSAFP said that they will be implementing changes in the [rotation and resupply operations]."

Brawner told the troops to "keep up their good work," the AFP said, in completing the resupply missions in the WPS.

"What you are doing here has strategic implications," Brawner said.

"The whole world is watching us so let us continue with our determination and resolve to accomplish our mission and the conduct of our RoRe operations," he added.

Three Philippine Navy personnel were injured after China Coast Guard ships fired water cannons at their civilian contracted ship, the Unaizah May 4, during their resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal on March 23.

The China Coast Guard described its actions as "lawful regulation, interception and expulsion" of a foreign vessel that "tried to forcefully intrude" into Chinese waters.

However, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said China Coast Guard's "unprovoked aggression, coercion, and dangerous maneuvers" endangered the lives of Filipinos on board the Unaizah May 4.

‘Disruptors’

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday evening, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela responded to Chinese government-supported publication Global Times, which called Manila and Washington as disruptors of stability in the South China Sea.

“Who is intensifying the tension, advancing their unlawful ambitions with the use of provocation and bullying tactics? Who is this country that claims sovereignty over Ayungin that is obviously distant miles away from the WPS ? Who thinks they are above international law and is violating their commitment to peace and stability in the region?,” Tarriela wrote.

“The history and the DOC show the answers: PEOPLE’s REPUBLIC OF CHINA is the disruptor of the South China Sea stability. Remember an unshakable fact: Ayungin Shoal will never belong to a persistent liar and blatant violator of the international law,” he added.

Senate resolution

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Wednesday said a resolution would be filed in the Senate urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to act accordingly in the wake of China's latest actions, which he described as "totally inhumane, illegal, and barbaric."

"We will file and sponsor a resolution calling on the Department of Foreign Affairs to take all necessary actions to stop these incidents," Villaneuva said.

The senator added that the DFA will also be asked to "update the Senate on the actions taken relative to the recommendations of the Senate in our Adopted Resolution No. 79."

By adopting Senate Resolution No. 79 last August, the Senate urged the Philippine government to sponsor a resolution before the United Nations General Assembly calling on China to stop its harassment of Philippine vessels within the West Philippine Sea.

Mutual Defense Treaty

The United States has condemned China's "dangerous actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations" in the contested waters.

The Philippines and America are signatories to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, wherein the two countries recognize that an armed attack on either of them would be dangerous to their respective peace and safety. The two countries also declared that they would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with their constitutional processes.

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said in a GMA Integrated News interview that the MDT has "great value" in deterring conflict in the region. On Tuesday, members of a US congressional delegation expressed support for the Philippines amid China's actions in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Parts of the waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) have been renamed as West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, a decision that Beijing has rejected. — VDV/RSJ, GMA Integrated News