ABOARD BRP MELCHORA AQUINO – Organizers of a civilian “Christmas convoy” that was set to deliver holiday cheer and supplies to troops and fishermen in the West Philippine Sea aborted their mission on Sunday hours after Beijing’s coast guard targeted the Philippine vessels with water cannon blasts while conducting a resupply mission to a military outpost in the contested waters.
The incident happened a day earlier when the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) also deployed water cannon and painful sound blasts against the three boats of the Philippine Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ferrying supplies to Filipino fishermen near Scarborough shoal.
The civilian convoy was expected to arrive on their first destination, Lawak Island, Monday morning, December 11, but the voyage was cut short citing security concerns.
“The captain of Atin Ito’s main civilian marine vessel, based on his wisdom, expertise and experience, deemed that it is no longer safe to continue with the voyage due to the constant shadowing conducted by four Chinese vessels, composed of 2 navy ships, 1 coast guard vessel and 1 cargo ship. As much as ATIN ITO wants to continue with the mission, we have to respect the captain’s decision,”
Akbayan Party President Rafaela David, co-convenor of ATIN ITO.
“There remains a single narrative: West Philippine Sea, Atin ito! As Filipinos, we are united in the fight for what is rightfully ours. Let’s not lose sight of the true threat within our territory. As China intensifies its aggression within our territory, we should also scale up our unity,” David stressed.
Although the mother ship returned to El Nido, Palawan, a second small supply vessel, MV Chowee, was able to reach Lawak Island Monday and successfully dropped the supplies intended for fishermen and frontliners.
According to Emman Hizon, Atin Ito communications director, the captain of the group’s main boat, “As much as Atin Ito wants to continue with the mission, we have to respect the captain’s decision,”
“If it were only up to us and the Philippine Coast Guard, we would like to proceed with the Christmas convoy. However, we recognize and respect the expertise and experience of the captain.”
Hours before the organizer’s made their decision, the Philippine Coast Guard said they were escorting supply vessels on a routine resupply and rotation mission to the BRP Sierra Madre – the old landing ship that Manila deliberately grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal to serve as an outpost in 1999 – when the Chinese Coast Guard and its maritime militia vessels “harassed, blocked, and executed dangerous maneuvers against them.
Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard’s spokesman, said in his social media site X their resupply boat Unaizah Mae 1 (UM1) was rammed by the Chinese coast guard ship CCG 21556.
The Chinese coast guard, however, reported that at 06:39 a.m., the UM1 vessel “disregarded repeated stern warnings from CCG, breached the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, made an unprofessional and hazardous maneuver, and intentionally collided with the CCG boat 21556, causing scratches, for which the Philippines is deemed fully responsible”.
General Romeo Brawner Jr., military chief, who was the Philippine civilian vessel targeted by water cannons, voiced his anger Monday over the incident in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
The West Philippine Sea is Manila’s name for the part of the South China Sea within Manila’s exclusive economic zone. It encompasses Second Thomas Shoal, known locally as Ayungin Shoal and called Ren’ai Jiao by China.
“I am angry at what happened to us,” Brawner said, noting China’s actions became more aggressive as it deployed more ships to the West Philippine Sea.
“I believed that the Chinese did not know I was on Unaizah Mae, that’s why they did not change their tactics. Instead, they further increased their aggressive actions,” he said.
On Saturday, the Philippine government also accused the Chinese coast guard of deploying water cannon, a floating barrier and painful sound blasts against Vessels from Manila’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources while attempting to deliver food and fuel to more than 30 Filipino fishing boats near Scarborough Shoal.
China seized Scarborough Shoal after a standoff with the Philippines in 2012 and has maintained control over it ever since. In 2016, an international tribunal dismissed China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including its islands, but Beijing has refused to accept it.
In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs filed a diplomatic protest against China over the three aggressions.
“Yes we filed a diplomatic protest. We used the maritime communication mechanism, and it was used yesterday at 12 o’clock noon. The DFA launched its diplomatic protest with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a phone call,” Foreign Affairs (DFA) Spokesperson Teresita Daza told reporters Monday.
The Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, has been summoned and the foreign affairs is considering him declaring persona non grata.
“If you do something or say something that is unwelcome, you can be subject to what they call a persona non grata. In this case, it will be something that will have to be seriously considered,” Daza said.
At the Palace, President Ferdinand Marcos on Sunday said China’s continued harassment of Filipino vessels has “steeled” the country’s determination to protect its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea where only the Philippines has the legal basis to operate.
Marcos reiterated that the Ayungin Shoal, also named Second Thomas Shoal but called by China as Ren’ai Jiao, is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that any foreign claim over it is baseless and contrary to international law.
“No one but the Philippines has a legitimate right or legal basis to operate anywhere in the West Philippine Sea,” the president said in a statement.
“The illegal presence in our waters and dangerous actions against our citizens is an outright and blatant violation of international law and the rules-based international order.”
Meanwhile, foreign ambassadors took to social media their concern about China’s dangerous action against the Philippines.
“The US stands with the Philippines and partners in vehemently condemning the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) repeated illegal and dangerous actions against vessels, including disrupting the resupply mission to the Sierra Madre today,” United States Ambassador MaryKay Carlson posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“PRC aggression undermines regional stability in defiance of a Free And Open Indo Pacific,” she added.
European Union Ambassador Luc Veron shared the same concern, saying they support the 2016 Arbitral Ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea..
“The 2016 UNCLOS Tribunal Award is a valuable framework for peaceful resolution. Water cannons and dangerous sea maneuvers aren’t a legitimate alternative,” Veron said.
Marie Fontanel, the French ambassador, said her county’s concerns over the use of water cannons and reiterated their support for the Philippines in winning the 2016 Arbitral Ruling.
In 2016, a U.N. arbitration court ruled in favor of the Philippines, saying that China’s historical claims to the sea region as delineated then in Chinese maps by a nine-dash line (now a 10-dash line) were invalid. But Beijing rejected the ruling and has since insisted that it has jurisdiction over all areas within that boundary.
Manila had brought Beijing to the court in 2012 after accusing its naval ships of blocking the Philippines’ access to Scarborough Shoal, which has remained under China’s administrative control ever since.
Last October 13, China’s navy “dangerously” shadowed a Philippine ship en route to Commodore Reef, located within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, as part of a resupply mission when the standoff took place.
Last month, Manila also accused the China Coast Guard of deploying a 328-yard-long floating barrier to obstruct the entrance to the disputed Scarborough Shoal. The Philippine Coast Guard removed the barrier in a “special operation.”
