MANILA, Philippines — It was “offensive and unsafe,” Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said yesterday of a Chinese coast guard vessel’s beaming a military-grade laser light at a Philippine boat, blinding crewmembers on a mission to resupply a military outpost in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea last Feb. 6.
“The secretary of national defense has already said that the act committed by the Coast Guard of China is offensive and unsafe,” Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar told reporters.
“Therefore, I think it is time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people,” he added.
Malacañang has kept mum on the incident, which happened two days before President Marcos’ state visit to Japan and days after the United States and the Philippines agreed to resume joint patrols in the sea and struck a deal to give US troops access to another four military bases in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
“We refer to the PCG statement,” Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a text message, referring to the Philippine Coast Guard by its initials.
Aguilar said that to his knowledge, this was the first time the Chinese coast guard used laser light to intimidate and harass non-Chinese boats in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.
He declined to say if the latest incident was an escalation of tensions in the region.
“No, there should be no escalation,” he said, adding he has no information yet if there were soldiers aboard the resupply vessel.
It was the latest episode in a series of maritime incidents between the Philippines and China, which claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis.
“The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel on board the BRP Sierra Madre is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights in this part of the West Philippine Sea,” the PCG said.
The BRP Malapascua was supporting a “rotation and resupply mission” for the troops, who live in a derelict navy ship grounded on the shoal to assert Manila’s territorial claims.
The Chinese Coast Guard vessel shone a “military-grade” green laser light twice at the Philippine ship, “causing temporary blindness to her crew at the bridge,” the PCG said in a statement.
‘Dangerous maneuver’
The Chinese vessel also made “dangerous maneuvers” by coming within about 140 meters of the Philippine boat.
“The deliberate blocking of the Philippine government ships to deliver food and supplies to our military personnel... is a blatant disregard for, and a clear violation of, Philippine sovereign rights in this part of the West Philippine Sea,” the PCG said.
Manila refers to waters immediately to its west as the West Philippine Sea.
It is not clear if the resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal was successful. Privately owned vessels are normally used to carry supplies, with the coast guard accompanying them.
“The PCG will continue to exercise due diligence in protecting the country’s territorial integrity against foreign aggression. The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) can always rely on the PCG to support their resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal,” PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said.
“Despite the dangerous maneuver of the much larger CCG ships and their aggressive actions at sea, the PCG ships will always be in the West Philippine Sea to sustain our presence and assert our sovereign rights,” he added.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels also blockaded the Philippines garrisoned shoal in August to stop government ships from reaching the troops, the coast guard said.
President Marcos and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed in January to set up direct communication between their foreign ministries to avoid “miscommunication” in the area. It is not known if the hotline was used in the latest incident.
The US-Philippine deal earlier this month brings to nine the total number of Philippine bases accessible to US forces under EDCA.
It comes as the long-time allies seek to counter China’s military rise in the region.
Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have overlapping claims to parts of the South China Sea.
Urgent
The Feb. 6 incident demonstrated the urgency of the proposed security cooperation triad between the Philippines, Japan and the US, or even a “quad” to include Australia, senators said yesterday.
Senators said instead of promoting stability in the South China Sea, China appears to be heightening tensions instead.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said the reported beaming of a military-grade green laser on a PCG ship assisting a resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal was worrisome and there should be no letup in the filing of diplomatic protests by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“Videos don’t lie… we must show the world that we cannot be bullied by any country,” Villanueva said.
The proposed defense cooperation with Japan and the US, and possibly Australia, was among the issues discussed by senators during their closed-door caucus, Villanueva said.
If such an alliance were formalized in a treaty, it would have to pass through ratification by the Senate.
He said he welcomes such proposals but the Marcos administration should enter into it carefully so as “not to create any friction.”
Deputy Senate Majority Leader Joseph Victor Ejercito condemned the Chinese coast guard, adding that Beijing is likely to just ignore diplomatic protest from Manila as it had done in the past.
“It’s about time the Philippines enters into an alliance with US, Japan, Australia and other ASEAN nations with territorial dispute with China so that the continuing aggression of China has to stop in the Asia Pacific region,” Ejercito said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, a member of the minority bloc, said the latest incident is not helping at all in Beijing’s thrust to be a regional leader.
“The Chinese government, if it wants to show true leadership of the region, should act responsibly and restrain any behavior by its coast guard, navy and maritime militia that might further inflame the situation in the West Philippine Sea,” Hontiveros said.
“Tensions are already high, but what is China doing instead? She is only getting more brazen by the day. Her shameless harassment, causing temporary blindness to Filipino crewmembers, should warrant a penalty,” she said.
Hontiveros said the Navy and the PCG have her full support as they implement proper countermeasures against “the repeated unjust and violent operations of Chinese elements in the country’s maritime zones.”
“I also reiterate my call for Malacañang and the DFA to meet with other claimant countries in the ASEAN as well as member-states of the QUAD to ensure that peace is upheld in our waters. We need to establish an updated security framework with our partners in the region as soon as possible,” the senator said. – AFP, Alexis Romero, Paolo Romero