AFP on China warship aid to PH fisher: ‘No need to publicize assistance’

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said there was “no need to publicize” an instance in which the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) assisted a Filipino fisherfolk in the waters off Zambales. 

“First and foremost, all mariners are mandated to render assistance to fellow mariners regardless of flag, regardless of creed, regardless of nationality,” AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a briefing Tuesday in Camp Aguinaldo.

“Such assistance rendered need not be publicized, especially by a country with a record of conducting coercive and aggressive actions. Doing so… would lose the essence of such assistance and it would only speak of propaganda,” he added.

READ: PCG dismisses China warship aid to ‘frightened’ Zambales fisher

It was the Chinese embassy in Manila that said last December 26, 2025 that a PLA-N Luyang III-class guide-missile destroyer with bow number 174 — through a rigid hull inflatable boat — had delivered “essential” food and water to the fisherfolk the day before.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela scoffed at the assistance cited by the embassy, noting that it was a “contrast to the barbaric, illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions” of Chinese ships in the disputed area of the region. /das