China Coast Guard’s Dangerous Maneuvers In WPS ‘Premeditated’ – AFP Spokesperson

China’s attacks against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea are getting more serious and are apparently premeditated, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said on Monday, Aug. 7.

According to Aguilar, the Aug. 5 incident wherein the Chinese coast guard trained its powerful water cannon on a boat hired by the military to bring supplies to Marines deployed on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal was an example of a premeditated offensive action.

Before the rotation and reprovisioning or RORE mission to Ayungin Shoal, Aguilar pointed out that the shadowing of Philippine vessels would usually start at the Sabina Shoal, which is located 130 nautical miles west of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan.

“This time they advanced to Sikatuna Shoal which is about 90, less than a hundred nautical miles. From there, they started to shadow our vessel and when they reached the entrance of the shoal around six nautical miles, they started to conduct dangerous maneuvers and then they blocked the way of our supply vessels,” Aguilar said. “How can they position in advance from the Sikatuna Shoal if they were not planning something?”

Not contented, Aguilar said the Chinese coast guard blasted a boat with water cannon.

Aquilar noted it was a “very dangerous act” given the high waves and the blasting of water.

He said there was also one instance where a Philippine vessel was chased after it managed to slip through a Chinese blockade in the West Philippine Sea.

“They (Chinese) tried to follow from behind, they tried to ram the boat...fortunately for us our boat was small they were able to maneuver fast,” Aguilar noted.

Aguilar said an act that poses danger to the lives of people, even without the use of firearms but other means, may be considered an attack under the Philippines' Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. He added that the new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA sites may be used to defend the Philippines if needed, as these are established under the MDT.

Senators propose exempting AFP from procurement rules

With China’s upping the ante in asserting its maritime claims within Philippine territory, senators have proposed exempting the AFP from government procurement rules so it can acquire weapons and equipment easier and faster.

The proposal emerged at the public hearing of the Senate committee of national defense and security on the proposed National Defense Act and Self-Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization, presided over by its chairman Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Monday.

At the hearing, senators also denounced the Chinese coast guards’ firing of water cannon over the weekend at a Philippine vessel.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri made a motion for the committee to review the AFP modernization program. He said procurement rules restrict AFP acquisitions to the cheapest, even if “the cheapest is not necessarily the best.”

“We will be coming up with the committee report, that instead of using the word brand new, you can put (the word) modern equipment,” he said. “So we really need state-of-the-art equipment so that we will not get the cheapest equipment.”

Asked by Estrada if it would be possible to just exempt the AFP from the Procurement Act, Zubiri said they might consider the suggestion.

“Under this National Defense Act under the AFP modernization program, we can make certain simple amendments that will already exempt the AFP from this particular Procurement Act,” Zubiri said.

“If you look at the Procurement Act, it’s complicated. Very controversial because of course you know, people on the other side, saying that it’s going to open a can of worms in terms of is-sues on corruption and all that,” he added.

The Senate president, however, maintained that AFP arms and equipment purchase is government-to-government and therefore more secured.

“You cannot go to a supermarket and buy guns and rifles, airplanes and ships. It’s really government-to-government, therefore, it’s a secure transaction,” he added.

Arms maker

Zubiri also raised the possibility of granting incentives to companies that would set up firearms plants in the country.

“It takes billions of pesos to set up the plant, even a black powder plant, even a primer plant… So it is safe to assume that under this law, we can grant contracts so that these companies can build and open shop here in the Philippines,” he said.

Defense Undersecretary Ireneo Espino voiced support for Zubiri’s proposal.

“We fully support that. This way, every time we talk to our foreign defense partners, we ask them what technology they can provide to us, especially on the production of spare parts,” Espino said.

“For the expensive equipment that we are buying, sustaining this equipment need, we had to have the spare parts, especially equipment like the air assets, the naval assets. These are very expensive equipment, but we need support for supplies of spare parts,” he added.

Zubiri clarified that while the Philippines values its defense cooperation with foreign allies, “we cannot afford to rely on them entirely. Over-reliance on our allies leaves us on the back foot – always waiting, and always dependent on what they will supply us with.”

He revealed that during the five-month Marawi siege, the AFP ran out of ammunition, forcing the government to look for replacement as far as Pakistan.

Senators agreed that the Philippine government needs to act fast to immediately help the AFP, especially the Philippine Coast Guard, in the face of China’s growing aggressiveness.

“Although we don’t want to go to war with other countries, it would be difficult to talk about diplomacy and friendship today when our fellow Filipinos are being harassed,” Estrada said.

“We shall remain a friend to all and enemy to none. We don’t want a fight as we are a peace-loving nation. We renounce war as an instrument of national policy, but it’s hard to talk about diplomacy and friendship if pressure and harassment on our fellow Filipinos continue,” he pointed out.

“The government should give the troops everything they need because it is the responsibility of all Filipinos to defend our sovereignty,” Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said.

“Indeed, we must not surrender even a single inch of our territory. While we rally behind him and his wisdom in peacefully resolving our territorial dispute, we also recognize and support his moves to accelerate the modernization of our troops,” he said, referring to the President.

“Let us provide troops the tools they need for the battle. Let’s make them feel that we are with them,” he added.

Sen. Bong Go expressed “deepest resentment and condemnation” of the latest water cannon incident, saying China repaid with deception and aggression the goodwill shown by the Duterte administration.

“What is ours is ours, we must remain consistent (with) our foreign policy of being friends to all, enemy to none. But we must also stand firm on protecting our sovereignty,” he said in a manifestation after Zubiri delivered a privilege speech condemning Chinese aggression.

“This latest incident is irresponsible and contrary to China’s repeated assurances of peacefully settling whatever misunderstandings we have over the West Philippine Sea,” Go, vice chair of the Senate committee on national defense, added.

He appealed to President Marcos to “always safeguard the safety of our personnel and our national interests.”

“This is not only a concern of the Philippines but the whole world. And we appeal to the international community for them to show sincerity not only with their words but also with their actions of respecting fellow states,” he said.

Downgrading

For Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, the Marcos administration should “degrade” the Philippine embassy in Beijing “to show our deep indignation, anger and protest over the water cannon blast by the Chinese Coast Guard on our personnel.”

Under a downgraded embassy status, the Philippines’ ties with Beijing “will effectively shrink.”

The veteran lawmaker maintained the Chief Executive should “order our unusually quiet and inactive ambassador” to return to Manila and replace him with a lower-level diplomatic officer.

“We cannot allow these harassment and bullying tactics and encroachment on our maritime territory to continue. We have to take more drastic actions, instead of filing the usual diplo-matic protest note,” he added.

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, for his part, said the Philippines should go ahead with joint maritime patrols with the US and other allies in response to China’s latest aggression.

“Our National Security Council expects the proposed maritime patrols with the US to begin happening before the year is over,” he said.

“Under the circumstances, it is my hope that such joint sails can start much sooner and possibly include other allied nations that have similarly condemned China’s illegal maneuvers and strive for peace and stability in the crucial international waterway,” he added.

Villafuerte is pushing for the passage of House Bill 1095 or the “Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act.”

HB 1095, which Villafuerte co-authored, also seeks to prohibit the fishing, loading, unloading of persons, goods or currency in Philippine territory.

Unacceptable

The Makabayan bloc said the Marcos administration must openly condemn China’s aggressive actions, as it called the water cannon incident “unacceptable” and a clear violation of international law.

In a statement, Gabriela Women’s party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said the “brazen actions by China jeopardize the safety of Filipino service members and hinder the lawful activities of the Philippines in its own exclusive economic zone.”

She called on the international community “to stand with the Philippines in upholding the rules-based international order and respecting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

She said China’s aggressive actions continue to threaten livelihood in coastal communities.

“This is a critical point for the Philippine government to stand with the Filipino people and end this one-sided diplomatic dance with China,” she maintained.

Another Makabayan bloc lawmaker, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, accused Marcos of not giving the issue enough attention.

She said the President “seems not to treat issue of territory and sovereignty important” and that he even did not mention it in his second SONA.

“China has been relentless in harassing and attacking Filipinos, especially the fishermen, and yet it still has the temerity to offer to have joint military exercises with us. What do they think of us? Fools and would only follow what they want us to do, like (Rodrigo) Duterte,” she said, referring to the former president.

The lawmaker added there is really a need now for the Philippine government to raise the issue before the United Nations General Assembly. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Sheila Crisostomo