West Philippine Sea: Navy’s June 17 encounter with CCG incurs P60M damage

This frame grab from handout video footage taken on June 17, 2024 and released on June 25 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows Chinese Coast Guard personnel aboard rigid hull inflatable boats (in black) during a confrontation with Philippine Navy personnel on their respective vessels (in gray) near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.  (Photo by Handout / ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The damage resulting from China Coast Guard’s violent encounter with personnel of the Philippine Navy on a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea last June 17 amounted to P60 million, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said.

“We estimated the cost of the damage at P60-million,” Brawner said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo. “So we are demanding China pay P60 million.”

CCG personnel rammed, towed, and even boarded Philippine Navy boats during the resupply mission for the BRP Sierra Madre, grounded in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal last June 17.

READ: China’s actions in Ayungin Shoal not an armed attack – Palace

The act, the Philippine military said, led to what Brawner previously deemed as “looting” of seven firearms, destruction of two navy boats, and resulting in one navy personnel losing his finger.

Due to this incident, Brawner said he wrote to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., urging him to convince the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to compel China to return the firearms.

“In my letter I demanded the return of seven firearms,”  Brawner said.

READ: PH issues demarche to China over recent Ayungin Shoal incident

According to the DFA, Manila and Beijing held the eighth Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on Tuesday in response to the June 17 incident.

Brawner, however, said he was unaware that both parties had discussed the return of firearms during the BCM.

The resupply activity of BRP Sierra Madre has become one of the flash points of tension between Manila and Beijing.

Beijing’s actions are based on its assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, as it continues to reject a July 2016 Arbitral Award, which effectively dismissed its claims while ruling heavily in favor of Manila.