West Philippine Sea: Filipino sailors fought armed CCGs ‘with bare hands’

China Coast Guard personnel brandish bolos against Philippine navy personnel during the June 17 resupply mission in a naval outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. PHOTO FROM THE AFP

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines — Philippine Navy personnel assigned in the West Philippine Sea resupply mission figured in a fight with bolo-wielding China coast guard (CCG) using their “bare hands.”

This happened despite the presence of firearms inside the Filipino resupply boat bound for BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. revealed on Wednesday.

“This is the first time that we saw Chinese Coast Guard bringing bolos and knives,” Brawner said in a press conference in AFP’s Western Command press conference in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

A video screen grab later shared by the AFP shows CCG personnel brandishing bolos against navy personnel.

“We saw in the video how the Chinese even threatened our personnel by pointing their knives at our personnel. Despite this, our soldiers fought with their bare hands,” Brawner said.

“With their bare hands, they pushed away the RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boats) of the Chinese Coast Guard; they were preventing the Chinese Coast Guard from hitting them,” he continued. “Despite the absence of weapons to defend themselves ay lumaban po sila (they still fought).”

READ: West Philippine Sea ramming incident could escalate – Pentagon

AFP Western Command chief Rear Admiral Alfonso Torres said that the CCG personnel also punctured Filipino’s RHIBs using their bolos.

Torres also confirmed that seven firearms were seized by CCG, but they were “inside gun cases” and were not used during the resupply mission.

“We have arms, but we did not use those,” Brawner said.“While we want to bring supplies to our troops, our objective is also to prevent war.”

The AFP chief also noted that the navy personnel were outnumbered. He said the country only had two RHIBs during the mission, compared to CCG’s eight RHIBs and steel hull ships.

During Monday’s mission, a sailor lost his thumb while a number of naval personnel also sustained minor injuries, the AFP confirmed.

CCG rammed, towed, and even boarded Philippine ships, only deeming it as “control measures” in line with its claim of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea.

The claim comes despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling effectively dismissing its claims stemming from a case filed by Manila in 2013.