Senate inquiry into latest Ayungin Shoal incident pushed

The Senate has been urged to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the June 17 incident in Ayungin Shoal involving Filipino troops and Chinese Coast Guard personnel that left seven Filipinos injured.

Senator Imee Marcos has filed proposed Senate Resolution 1055, emphasizing the need to examine further the events that took place on June 17 in order to determine how the government can better protect Filipino servicemen and citizens during its resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre.

The inquiry was also proposed by the lawmaker to ascertain what changes should be made to the current strategies employed by the Philippine government in order to allow the country to more effectively and safely assert its sovereign rights.

"The most recent incident marks a serious escalation in the aggressiveness of People's Republic of China in intercepting Philippine rotation and resupply (RORE) missions to Ayungin Shoal. For the first time, Chinese personnel boarded Filipino military boats, took Filipino firearms, and seriously injured a Filipino military personnel," Marcos said in her resolution.

This happened despite the current strategies being employed by the Philippine authorities, Marcos said, including the filing of diplomatic protests, transparency campaign on RORE missions, and joint patrols with the United States and other countries.

Apart from the June 17 incident, Marcos also cited several instances in the past when Chinese personnel pointed a laser towards Filipinos, rammed a Philippine supply boat, used water cannons, and seized food supplies for Filipino troops, among others.

Marcos noted that encounters between Philippine and Chinese ships during RORE missions to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal "have increased substantially" starting in 2023.

Call to demilitarize

Meanwhile, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros called for the demilitarization, or the removal of weapons and military forces, in the West Philippine Sea.

"We must push for the de-militarization of the West Philippine Sea. I call on Government to put politics and diplomacy back at the captain's wheel with Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, fisherfolk, and civilian actions," Hontiveros said, while condemning China's recent actions in Ayungin Shoal.

"Let us optimize every legal, political, and diplomatic potential to preserve security and peace in the region," she added.

Hontiveros said this incident is "unacceptable" and China has "severely violated not only international law, but our human rights."

"Violence should not be committed on our seas," she said.

GMA News Online has reached out to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regarding Hontiveros' statement, but it has yet to provide a response as of posting time.

'Full briefing' from DFA

Last Thursday, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero said the Senate would seek a "full briefing" from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regarding the latest incident in Ayungin Shoal.

The escalation of tensions in the West Philippine Sea is alarming, and the Senate will be seeking a full briefing from the DFA on the latest incident, as well as the efforts being undertaken to address this," the Senate president said.

Pending the briefing, Escudero reiterated his call for dialogues between Philippine and Chinese officials to prevent the further escalation of tension in the region.

He also said the DFA "should go beyond the filing of diplomatic protests each time an incident occurs, and must explore every means to conduct a meaningful dialogue with their counterparts from Beijing with the end in view of avoiding further escalation, without giving up any of our rights and privileges in our claimed territory vis-a-vis theirs."

The AFP last Tuesday confirmed that a Philippine Navy servicemember suffered "severe injury" following a collision between a Chinese ship and a Philippine vessel performing a RORE mission in Ayungin Shoal in the WPS. It was later revealed that the service member lost a thumb during the incident.

The Philippines, through the DFA, and the Pentagon have denounced the incident.

The Ayungin Shoal, which China calls Ren'ai Reef, is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its continental shelf.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

The Philippine government sued China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague in 2013. The Court ruled in favor of the Philippines in July 2016 when it junked China's nine-dash claim over the South China Sea.

In the same ruling, the PCA said the Ayungin Shoal, which is also called Second Thomas Shoal, the Spratly Islands, Panganiban or Mischief Reef, and Recto or Reed Bank are within the Philippine EEZ. The Scarborough Shoal, meanwhile, was deemed as a common fishing ground.

Beijing, however, does not recognize the ruling. — VDV, GMA Integrated News