Teodoro: China’s claim that fishers wield knives vs CCG a ‘blatant lie’

[Updated Dec. 16, 2025, 2:18 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines — Officials concerning West Philippine Sea matters on Tuesday called “blatant lies” and illogical the claim of the Chinese foreign ministry regarding the incident in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, which injured Filipino fisherfolk.

Three Filipino fishers were injured when Chinese forces fired water cannons to drive them away from the shoal on Friday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on Saturday.

READ: 3 Filipino fishers hurt, 2 boats damaged in Chinese harassment at Escoda

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, however, offered a different version of the event, without mentioning the water cannon incident and framing the operations as “legitimate, lawful, professional, restrained and beyond reproach” to uphold what he said is China’s “indisputable sovereignty” there.

Guo, on Monday, further said that “organized and orchestrated” Filipino fishing boats “conducted dangerous maneuvers including veering suddenly off course” and “even threatened China Coast Guard (CCG) officers with knives.”

“The attempt by the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to justify these actions by invoking ‘indisputable sovereignty’ and peddling blatant lies like ‘knife-wielding’ fishermen is not supported by facts and evidence,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in a statement.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, on Tuesday echoed this, stressing that the fisherfolk were unarmed.

“Claims that Filipino fishermen were carrying knives are contradicted by evidence,” Tarriela said in a statement.

Tarriela also dismissed Guo’s claim that the fishers are organized to provoke CCG vessels, saying it’s illogical. 

“It strains logic to suggest that ordinary Filipino fishermen on wooden boats are somehow ‘organized and orchestrated’ and can be provocative vis-a-vis the massive, armed and steel-hulled China Coast Guard vessels,” Tarriela said. “Common sense alone debunks this narrative: how could unarmed fishermen realistically threaten or provoke such heavily equipped forces?”

Fisherfolk themselves recorded videos of the Chinese harassment in Escoda Shoal using water cannons before being rescued by PCG.

Aside from being a fisherfolk destination, Escoda Shoal serves as the rendezvous point for Filipino vessels carrying out resupply missions, being very close to the naval outpost BRP Sierra Madre aground in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, one of the main flashpoints of tensions between Manila and Beijing.

READ: PH Navy sailor loses thumb, others injured in CCG ramming incident

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, but Manila brought the matter to an international court, which ruled in its favor on sovereign rights in 2016. 

Beijing’s latest actions at Escoda Shoal to assert this claim were met with condemnation from other countries, including Manila’s sole treaty ally, Washington, with the State Department calling its moves “increasingly dangerous.”

Guo dismissed the United States’ condemnation, calling it “provocative,” while stressing that the country is not a party to the dispute. 

Teodoro rejected this, saying the international community has a “legitimate interest” in speaking out on matters about a vital international waterway like the West Philippine Sea.

“The US calling out the People’s Republic of China’s barbaric, illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions in the West Philippine Sea is a principled move,” Tarriela said.

The Chinese spokesperson also said the U.S should stop “abetting and supporting” the Philippines’ attempt of “creating troubles” which he said is part of its “vilification” moves geared towards China. 

“The international community is well aware of these facts and will not be misled by propaganda portraying the Philippines as the aggressor,” Tarriela also said. /das /mr