China, not Philippines, makes provocations in South China Sea – PCG

MANILA, Philippines — China, not the Philippines, should stop its “provocations and infringements” in the West Philippine Sea, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela in response to Beijing’s putting the blame on Filipinos for confrontations at sea.

“DO NOT BE CONFUSED! Every escalation of maritime disputes between China and the Philippines is caused by provocations and violations from China’s side,” Tarriela, chief of the West Philippine Sea Transparency Office, wrote on X.

He said China started the “infringements” in 1995 when it occupied Panganiban (Mischief) Reef and in 2012 when it “resisted the arrest of illegal Chinese fishermen” in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

The incidents – especially the Panatag Shoal standoff – prompted the Philippines to “take necessary legal measures in The Hague,” which resulted in the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim and reaffirmed the Philippines’ maritime entitlements.

In response to China’s bullying, the Philippines also “deepen(ed) its security cooperation with other like-minded states to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” Tarriela said.

“If China halts its provocations and infringements, the situation in the South China Sea will not face further turmoil,” he said.

Tarriela’s X post was in response to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian’s claim that “every escalation of maritime disputes between China and the Philippines is caused by provocations and violations from the Philippine side.”

“It was the Philippines that initiated these infringements, prompting China to take necessary legal measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” Lin said in a statement in the X account of the state-run Global Times.

Lin was reacting to pronouncements from Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro during a meeting with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles that the Philippines was a “victim of Chinese aggression” and that it was seeing “an increasing demand by Beijing for us to concede our sovereign rights” in the West Philippine Sea.