Brawner presses China anew to pay P60 million for June 17 assault

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military chief has renewed calls for China to pay P60 million in damages for the incident in June where Chinese Coast Guard personnel assaulted Filipino troops during a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea. 

The June 17 clash, the most violent this year between Chinese and Philippine maritime forces, left one Filipino with a severed finger and saw Philippine military equipment destroyed and seized. 

The P60 million demanded would cover the damaged boats and equipment, along with rifles taken by Chinese forces, AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said.

“We will demand it, we will continue to demand it—it is our right. They were the ones at fault; they stole our equipment, and they should return it," the AFP chief said in a speech on Monday, November 4, during the opening of the annual joint exercise of the Navy, Air, Army and Special Operations forces.

The AFP chief said the military has formally filed its demand through diplomatic channels. "We sent a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs so they can include this in our demands," he said, noting that Beijing has yet to respond to the request for compensation.

Beyond material losses, the incident also resulted in injuries to Filipino personnel. A Navy serviceman, Seaman First Class Jeffrey Facundo, lost a thumb during the assault.

"The P60 million doesn't even include the damage caused to our Navy personnel who lost his finger," Brawner said.

Facundo has since recovered his severed thumb after being treated by doctors from the military's "partners," including the Makati Medical Foundation, the AFP chief added. He has been deployed again to the West Philippine Sea.

Chinese vessels' assault of Philippine rubber boats in June drew international condemnation and prompted the Philippines and China to formally meet and agree to "de-escalate tensions" in the South China Sea. 

The Chinese Coast Guard had repeatedly rammed the Philippines' rigid-hull inflatable boats in an attempt to foil their resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre — an aging warship deliberately run aground at Ayungin Shoal to serve as a Navy outpost.

Chinese personnel were captured on Philippine military footage wielding an axe and slashing a Filipino rubber boat—an act that Manila tagged as “brazen aggression.” Besides Facundo, at least seven other personnel were also injured. 

China's Foreign Ministry had characterized the incident as one that threatened the safety of Chinese personnel. They said the Philippine boats carried smuggled weapons and intentionally rammed Chinese vessels. 

Just days before the incident, Beijing's new law took effect, allowing its coast guard to detain foreign trespassers for up to 60 days without trial. 

China considers almost the entire South China Sea, including waters referred to by the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea, to be its territorial waters.

The Philippines filed a case against China in 2013, and three years later, the Permanent Court of Arbitration declared China's extensive claims had no legal basis. Beijing still refuses to recognize the ruling even as other foreign powers have done so.