Philippine Navy destroys Chinese fishing nets in Ayungin—report

This aerial photograph taken from a military aircraft shows the dilapidated Sierra Madre ship of the Philippine Navy anchored near Ayungin shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) with Philippine soldiers on-board to secure the perimeter in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, on May 11, 2015. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — In a move which a security analyst deems to be permissible, the Philippine Navy reportedly dismantled and confiscated Chinese fishing nets installed within the vicinity of Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

China’s state publication Xinhua on Tuesday claimed that the personnel of BRP Sierra Madre “repeatedly damaged” Chinese fishermen’s nets last May 15.

Over 2,000 meters of Beijing’s fishing nets have been damaged while more than 100 meters of fishing nets were confiscated by Manila, the report further said.

READ: China has ‘zero common sense’ over actions during Ayungin airdrop—PH Navy

INQUIRER.net reached out to Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, for comment but he has yet to respond as of posting.

Security analyst Chester Cabalza on Wednesday said Manila’s military could conduct such operations inside its exclusive economic zone. Ayungin lies within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer EEZ, some 194 km off Palawan province.

“If they see illegal acts, they can initiate the dismantling of intrusive objects since they are the prime protector of our  sovereign state and the people,” Cabalza told INQUIRER.net in a message.

Cabalza also called the placement of fishing nets near the naval outpost a “provocation.”

“China will always try to twist the story to advance their national interest,” Cabalza, president and founder of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, also said. “The placement of nets near Ayungin Shoal is a provocation.”

“This psych ops is clearly made to get the sympathy of the international community and weaken the strong Philippine narrative and resistance,” he continued.

READ: Chinese warships presence in West Philippine Sea doubles

This latest allegation is part of a series of China’s accusations against personnel of BRP Sierra Madre.

China Global Television Network reported over the weekend that  naval personnel pointed guns at China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel during a resupply mission in the naval outpost last May 19. In response, General Romeo Brawner, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the soldiers were holding their rifles but they never aimed their weapons at anyone.

However, Brawner noted that: “We have the right [to have weapons onboard] because of the concept of self-defense.”

Also during the same resupply mission, CCG personnel aboard two rigid hull inflatable boats seized and dumped overboard food and other supplies meant for Filipino troops. They also allegedly obstructed a medical evacuation of an ailing soldier from the BRP Sierra Madre.

The AFP also showed a three-minute video where Filipino voices could be heard ordering personnel in their own rubber boats to retrieve the supplies quickly to prevent the Chinese from getting a hold of them. One of the voices was heard instructing the troops to make sure their guns were on standby as the scramble for the supplies drew closer and closer to the naval outpost, coming within 5 to 10 meters.

Some Chinese personnel had taken supplies for themselves as well, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report, citing information from a ranking military official.

READ: AFP: PH troops didn’t point guns at China Coast Guard

“Well, we have seen how China has been using its so-called victim card to paint the Philippines as an aggressor in its own exclusive economic zone,” said geopolitical analyst Don McLain Gill in a message to INQUIRER.net on Wednesday.

Gill, however, noted that China’s spin on events remains unconvincing.

“Such antics continue to lose any objective weight given the clear provocations and atrocities Beijing commits in Philippine waters and against Filipino people,” the lecturer at the De La Salle University’s Department of International Studies added.

The regular resupply mission in the grounded naval outpost became one of the flashpoints of tension in the West Philippine Sea, as Chinese vessels resorted to usage of water cannons during previous missions which even injured Philippine navy personnel at one point.

Such actions are in line with Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.

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