Note verbale sent to Beijing; Chinese Ambassador summoned over latest PCG incident in WPS

A Chinese Coast Guard vessel fires her water cannon toward a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal. | Photo courtesy: Philippine Coast Guard Facebook page

A note verbale has been sent to Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, following the latest incident in the West Philippine Sea where the Chinese Coast Guard used a water cannon and performed alleged dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels who were on a resupply mission to the Ayungin Shoal.

No less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., made the statement following the incident over the weekend.

“Actually today, pagkatapos ng change of command ng sa CGPA ay magkakaroon kami ng command conference tungkol nga dito, on how we will respond,” Marcos said.

The President did not further divulge any operational aspects, but assured that the Philippine government will continue to assert its territorial rights in the WPS.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has summoned Huang to strongly protest the actions made by the CCG.

On Monday, the Chinese ambassador met with several senior Philippine diplomats, who conveyed the Philippines’ deep concern over the incident.

CCG spokesperson Gan Yu said the CCG simply took “necessary controls” against the Philippine vessels that they deemed as “illegally entering” its waters.

Yu added that Beijing simply “implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law and stopped Philippine ships carrying illegal building materials.”

Many countries, led by the United States, Australia, Japan, and Canada — had expressed support to the Philippines over China’s actions.

It will be recalled that the Philippine Naval vessel BRP Sierra Madre – has been grounded at Ayungin shoal since 1999.

It is being manned by more than a dozen Marines and sailors who became a symbol of Philippine sovereignty in the offshore territory.

It is located some 105.77 nautical miles from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan, and is part of the Philippiens’ 200-nautical mile continental shelf as provided under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

President Marcos had said that the Philippines will continue to fight for its territory.

“We continue to assert our sovereignty, we continue to assert our territorial rights in the face of all these challenges and consistent with the international law and UNCLOS especially… that is always been our stand but we still have to keep communicating with the Chinese government, with President Xi [Jinping], with Beijing because we really need to come to a conclusion,” Marcos said.