BRP Sierra Madre will remain in Ayungin, period – Navy

MANILA, Philippines — Despite China’s muscle-flexing in Ayungin Shoal where its “monster” coast guard vessel occasionally appears to project a menacing presence, the BRP Sierra Madre will remain in the area as demonstration of Filipinos’ resolve to defend their territory, the Philippine Navy said yesterday.

“We will not give up that ship, it is an indication of the government’s stand,” Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad declared.

“It is the mandate of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to ensure the integrity of the national territory,” he told reporters at a press briefing held amid China’s scaling up its presence in Philippine waters, now led by its biggest coast guard ship nicknamed “The Monster,” which dropped anchor in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.

Trinidad neither confirmed nor denied reports that Chinese vessels had tried to block a medical evacuation of a sick soldier from the Sierra Madre, but stressed that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was able to successfully carry out the mission.

“The situation is that we have a PCG vessel in the vicinity of Sabina or Escoda Shoal. The monster ship, the so-called monster ship of the Chinese Communist Party, the CCG (China Coast Guard), is also there. The report is, it was anchored. That is the situation, details of that we could ask the coast guard,” he said.

“Suffice it to say the Philippine Navy and the armed forces will continue its presence not only in Sabina or Escoda Shoal but all over our nine features in the WPS,” he added.

Trinidad said a medical evacuation mission was indeed carried out on July 7 and the soldier is now at Camp Ricarte Station Hospital receiving medical attention.

Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy shows there are 94 CCG, People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Chinese maritime militia vessels roaming the WPS. The number is just a notch lower than the figure reported last week.

‘Classic misdirection’

Also yesterday, the National Security Council (NSC) slammed China’s spreading of fake news that it was the Sierra Madre that was causing environmental damage based supposedly on findings by “Chinese experts.”

In a statement, NSC assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said China’s claim was “false and a classic misdirection” as it was the Chinese who had caused serious damage to the marine environment and imperilled the livelihood of thousands of Filipino fisherfolk.

“In fact, China’s involvement in the destruction of the maritime environment was established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2016,” Malaya said.

He explained that on Page 464 of the Arbitral Award, China was scored for aggravating the sea dispute by building a large artificial island on Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, and commencing large- scale island building and construction work in Calderon (Cuarteron) Reef, Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, Burgos (Gaven) Reef, Mabini (Johnson) Reef, McKennan Reef (Hughes Reef) and Zamora (Subi) Reef. The artificial islands now serve as Chinese military bases.

Malaya said the Arbitral Tribunal found that Chinese authorities were aware of their fishers harvesting endangered sea turtles, coral and giant clams on a substantial scale in the South China Sea, using methods that inflict severe damage on the coral reef environment.

“Moreover, a 2023 report released by the independent non-profit organization Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) found that ‘more than 6,200 acres (25 sq. kilometers) of coral reef have been destroyed by island-building activities in the South China Sea, with 75 percent of the damage being done by China; another 16,353 acres (66.1 sq. kilometers) of coral reef were damaged due to giant clam harvesting by Chinese fishermen, and China has caused the most reef destruction through dredging and landfill, burying roughly 4,648 acres (18.8km2) of reef’,” he added.

Malaya said the Philippines has also collated evidence of China’s responsibility for severe damage to corals in Panatag Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc), Rozul Reef, Escoda Shoal and in Pag-asa Cays.

“The swarming and indiscriminate, illegal fishing activities of Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) in these areas have severely degraded the marine environment in the West Philippine Sea,” he stressed.

“We call on the public and the international community to be wary and conscious of on-going activities by Chinese state-owned media and so-called ‘Chinese experts’ to spread fake news and disinformation and conduct malign influence operations in the Philippines, including this false accusation against BRP Sierra Madre,” he said.

“We invite other Indo-Pacific nations to join the Philippines in pushing for a more united, coordinated and sustained multilateral action to protect and preserve the marine and land biodiversity in our region,” Malaya said. — Evelyn Macairan