AFP: China out to ‘distort truth’ using old Ayungin videos

SO THE PEOPLE MAY KNOW The Armed Forces of the Philippines put out a public announcement on Saturday warning the public not to be misled into believing that there were fresh confrontations at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal between Chinese and Filipino forces. The military says the videos being shown on Chinese social media were “recycled” from June last year and no new encounters have occurred since.

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday warned Filipinos not to fall for China’s disinformation campaigns deliberately aimed at misleading them, citing old videos being shown on Chinese social media outlets as footage of “new incidents” at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

It was referring to a confrontation last year between Philippine Navy and China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel at Ayungin, where the military maintains one of its outposts in the West Philippine Sea, waters within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“These deceptive tactics are not only irresponsible — they aim to manipulate public perception, distort the truth, and weaken our shared resolve in asserting the nation’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” the AFP said in a statement.

READ: AFP denies China towed BRP Sierra Madre, warns of disinformation

Citing China Bugle, a news account affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army news media center, the Chinese state-run Global Times claimed that China Coast Guard personnel blocked Philippine resupply boats from “infringing” on Ayungin and managed to tow them away “in just six minutes.”

June 2024 incident

No ship names were mentioned in the videos.

The post did not indicate when the supposed incident occurred and used low-resolution video clips that had previously circulated online.

The video appeared to be footage of the June 17, 2024, incident at Ayungin when CCG personnel rammed, boarded and towed Philippine Navy rigid-hull inflatable boats on a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre. The military said then that the sailors were threatened with knives, axes, and long stick,s and at least one of the boats was deflated.

The Sierra Madre is a World War II-era ship that was run aground at Ayungin to serve as an outpost west of Palawan.

Not just large vessels

“We urge the public to remain vigilant. Think critically, verify information, and rely only on credible and official sources. Disinformation is a direct threat to our national integrity and unity,” the AFP said.

In a landmark decision in July 2016, an arbitral tribunal invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.

During a June 6 congressional hearing on the spread of fake news, cybercrimes, and online harassment, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela warned that disinformation continues to undermine the country’s maritime claims.

“Our greatest challenge in our fight in the West Philippine Sea is not just the large vessels of the People’s Republic of China, but also the spread of misinformation and fake news,” Tarriela told the House committees on public order and safety, information and communications technology, and public information.

He stressed the need for national unity, calling it the government’s “toughest battle” in defending the West Philippine Sea.

New battlefront

Tarriela added that this was the motivation behind the government’s transparency initiative, which President Marcos had supported to make public China’s aggressive actions in the WPS.

“Despite the transparency efforts of the Philippine government, we continue to face a new front in this fight—and that is the battle against misinformation,” Tarriela said.

Asked about the video, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. told reporters at Clark Air Base that he has yet to see it and he would first verify the information before taking any action.

The AFP estimated the damage from the June 2024 encounter at P60 million, covering navigation and communications equipment on the boats destroyed by the Chinese. One sailor also lost a finger during the confrontation.

In an interview with ANC ahead of the President’s State of the Nation Address last Monday, Teodoro said that a major part of the Philippines’ national interest was resisting Chinese claims.

‘Troublemaker’

“And I might underscore that their claim is not merely sovereignty rights but indisputable sovereignty and territorial integrity over waters in the nine-dash line,” he said, adding that the Philippine claim was just sovereign rights in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

His statement drew rebuke from the Chinese Embassy in Manila, calling him a “troublemaker” for describing Chinese claims over the South China Sea as going well beyond sovereign rights.

“The reason some Philippine officials repeatedly make statements that distort and attack China’s position is, more likely, an attempt to escalate tensions between the two countries and mislead the international community,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng said in a statement on Friday.

“Anyone who carefully reads China’s position papers will not arrive at absurd claims such as ‘China claims indisputable sovereignty and territorial integrity over all waters in the nine-dash line,’” he said.

In March, Teodoro reminded Beijing that the Philippines is an independent and sovereign nation whose actions are driven primarily by national interest.

His remark was in response to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who belittled the Philippines’ strategic decisions in the West Philippine Sea as a “screenplay written by external forces.” /cb