West Philippine Sea: AFP denies soldiers pointed guns at CCG

ASSAULT ON THE HIGH SEAS Manila has asked Beijing to order all its vessels to leave Ayungin Shoal following the “dangerous maneuvers” made by the China Coast Guard (CCG) to block Philippine ships headed for the BRP Sierra Madre on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. An image from aerial footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows two CCG vessels blasting their water cannons at Unaizah May 4 (center). | Agence France-Presse File photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied allegations that soldiers on board the grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea pointed guns at the China Coast Guard (CCG).

The AFP said troops were merely “on guard” due to a “provocative presence” within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

A report of the state-run China Global Television Network (CTGN) over the weekend alleged that Philippine soldiers pointed guns at the CCG, which vessel got near the AFP’s naval outpost in the West Philippine Sea – as shown in CTGN’s footage.

The AFP said the BRP Sierra Madre troops were on heightened vigilance because the CCG was “dangerously close” to the grounded Philippine Navy warship.

“Foreign vessels that venture dangerously close to our military vessel and in violation of safe distance protocols necessitate heightened vigilance and alertness from our personnel,” the AFP explained in a statement Tuesday.

READ: China Coast Guard seizes PH supplies for Ayungin

“Hence, our troops were seen onguard because of the CCGs provocative presence near BRP Sierra Madre,” it added.

The AFP likewise pointed out that Filipino soldiers are governed by the rules of engagement and “clearly acted with the highest level of professionalism, restraint, and discipline in the performance of their mission to safeguard our sovereignty and sovereign rights.”

The CCG has been showing hostile behaviors in the West Philippine Sea. Among the latest was the CCG’s seizure and dumping of food and other supplies for Filipino soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre.

READ: Senators slam ‘inhumane’ acts of China Coast Guard

The May 19 incident, as reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on June 2, also involved the CCG’s alleged obstruction of ailing soldiers’ medical evacuation from the grounded World War II-era ship.

The regular resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, a naval outpost moored at Ayungin Shoal since 1999, became one of the turning points of tension in the West Philippine Sea, as Chinese vessels resorted to using military-grade lasers and water cannons on Philippine vessels which already resulted in the injury of Philippine Navy personnel.

Beijing’s aggressive actions are anchored on its belief that it owns almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been completely invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from an arbitration case filed by Manila in 2013.

The July 2016 ruling says China’s nine-dash line assertion in the South China Sea is invalid as it is baseless and unfounded and that the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.

China, however, has been refusing to acknowledge that arbitration ruling.