Philippines rejects China's humanitarian claims in Ayungin mission
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines dismissed the China Coast Guard’s claims of humanitarian consideration in delivering essential provisions to troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre, stressing that Chinese ships still used “dangerous maneuvers” to block boats on a resupply mission.
The Philippines on Tuesday completed a resupply mission to the remote outpost in Ayungin Shoal despite attempts by CCG and Chinese maritime militia vessels to “block, harass, and interfere.”
“It’s not true that they showed humanity or extended humanitarian assistance to allow our boats to enter [Ayungin Shoal]. Our supply boats and PCG vessels were clearly blocked by China Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militias,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson on West Philippine Sea matters, told state broadcaster People’s Television.
The CCG said it made temporary arrangements for Manila to deliver necessities to BRP Sierra Madre, which it claims were done on humanitarian grounds.
“The resupply mission that we had yesterday is not a walk in the park. We still experienced dangerous maneuvers,” Tarriela said
The Coast Guard official added the Philippines does not need permission from China as Ayungin Shoal is within the country’s exclusive economic zone
‘Less aggressive’
The successful mission comes a little over two weeks after the China Coast Guard blocked and fired water cannons at Philippine boats. The incident prevented one of the boats from unloading supplies, and drew condemnation from Philippine allies, including the United States.
Col. Medel Aguilar, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, noted that China exhibited a less hostile behavior during the latest resupply mission.
“They were not so aggressive. Probably, they learned their lesson that violence has no place in this world, especially if that violence is founded on something that is not acceptable to the international community and that violence is doing to encroach or subvert or suppress the expression of rights of other countries,” Aguilar told PTV.
According to Tarriela, the China Coast Guard deployed smaller vessels this time and refrained from using water cannons.
“I think this has something to do with optics. They want to show the world that they are not really that aggressive in preventing our resupply operations so they made adjustments,” he said.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts that Manila calls the West Philippine Sea, and has ignored a ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
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