Chinese overwhelmed Filipinos at Ayungin
SURROUNDED Two Philippine Navy supply boats are pinned to the hull of the BRP Sierra Madre as several China Coast Guard speed boats surround them to prevent delivery of essential supplies to troops on the ship which serves as an outpost at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in this frame grab from a video taken on June 17. One Navy man lost his thumb in the violent encounter. —ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE/AFP
The China Coast Guard (CCG) used overwhelming force in attacking Filipino troops on a resupply mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on Monday in what the Armed Forces of the Philippines described as a “brazen act of aggression.”
Aside from wielding bolos, knives, and spears, the CCG personnel also used tear gas, high-pitched sirens, and blinding strobe lights against Philippine Navy men.
Videos and photos released by the AFP on Wednesday night showed at least one Chinese coast guardsman using a pickax to threaten Filipino troops aboard their rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and those on the BRP Sierra Madre.
Still no word from President
“In a brazen act of aggression, the CCG obstructed the AFP’s critical humanitarian rotation and resupply operations at BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) in Ayungin Shoal on June 17, employing physical attacks, bladed weapons, blaring sirens, and blinding strobe lights,” the AFP said in a statement.
It was the second time in less than a month that CCG personnel came within reach of the rusted Sierra Madre since it was run aground on Ayungin in 1999 to serve as the Philippine military’s outpost at the shoal.
READ: 8 PH Navy men injured; one had finger cut off
President Marcos, who vowed to protect Philippine territory “to the last square millimeter,” has not spoken publicly about the incident since the CCG attack on Monday.
According to the AFP, the CCG personnel launched a “brutal assault” on the RHIBs, “aggressively ramming” the boats as they brandished deadly bladed and pointed weapons and explicitly threatened harm on Filipino troops.
The CCG deployed tear gas while sailors were giving first aid to Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo of the Naval Special Operations Group whose right thumb was severed after it was smashed in one “high-speed ramming” by a Chinese boat.
A video showed that CCG boats continued ramming two Philippine RHIBs as they were moored beside the Sierra Madre.
Another video showed CCG personnel forcefully tying ropes to tow one RHIB as one of them threatened a Filipino sailor with a pickax.
The sirens were intended to “create chaos, disrupt communication, and divert the attention of AFP troops, exacerbating the hostile and dangerous situation,” the AFP said.
It added that the communication, navigational equipment, and personal cellular phones, were smashed by the CCG men as they forcibly towed and looted the Navy’s 9-meter RHIB.
Two CCG boats sandwiched one of the RHIBs, pinching it so they could drag it away from the Sierra Madre and “isolate” it from the Filipino troops.
‘Excessive force’
The CCG men also slashed and punctured one RHIB, rendering it immobile. At one point, the Chinese also hurled rocks and other objects at the Filipinos, the AFP said.
As the melee was happening, a Chinese military aircraft circled overhead, “in a display of excessive force and intimidation,” the AFP said.
A Filipino soldier onboard the Sierra Madre was heard shouting, “Hey, stop! This is our territory.” A CCG member pointed blinding strobe lights to the faces and cameras of the Filipinos to impair their vision and coordination, the military said.
There were over 20 CCG men and eight Chinese RHIBs deployed in the assault on the Navy RHIBs.
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. had likened the CCG’s actions to “piracy.”
Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, the AFP spokesperson, said on Thursday that the actions of the CCG were clear violations of international maritime law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“Their behavior is reckless, aggressive, and illegal. The deliberate targeting and destruction of Philippine vessels within our exclusive economic zone is an egregious infringement on our sovereignty and sovereign rights,” Padilla told the Inquirer.
Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson, condemned China’s “escalatory” action, calling the CCG men a “band of barbarians.”
Senate briefing
“It does not speak well of a country that wants to be a global power,” Trinidad said. “Other countries should now be very careful in looking at what China is doing in the West Philippine Sea because it will also be done to them.”
Senate President Francis Escudero said on Thursday that senators would be asking the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for a comprehensive briefing on the incident.
“In the meantime, the DFA should go beyond the filing of diplomatic protests each time an incident occurs, and must explore every means to conduct a meaningful dialogue with their counterparts from Beijing with the end in view of avoiding further escalation, without giving up any of our rights and privileges in our claimed territory vis-a-vis theirs,” Escudero said in a statement.
He urged the AFP to “explore alternative methods to deliver provisions to the Sierra Madre” with minimum risks, he said.
Sen. Loren Legarda said the Philippines must “stretch its patience and tolerance.”
She suggested holding talks with China to deal with any violations within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and avoid war.
“We must exercise our tolerance because we are protecting 110 million Filipinos. We must balance that tolerance and patience and the use of constructive dialogue and diplomacy with asserting our rights as a sovereign nation,” she added.
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon, who once headed the House defense and security committee, on Thursday called for a tougher response to China’s actions.
He said the moral high ground should be the first goal of the Philippines “so that in possible future actions involving reciprocation of aggression, we will be justified,” Biazon said.
“If CCG has the audacity to board a PH RHIB, will they have the impunity to board a grounded PH LST (landing ship, tank)?” he asked.
Biazon urged the Philippine military to clearly state that its forces “won’t be restrained to fire weapons in defense if LS-57 (BRP Sierra Madre) is forcibly boarded by foreign forces.” —WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND RUSSEL LORETO
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