Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 9) — Philippine troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal offered to assist a Chinese boat which got entangled in a mooring line while shadowing Filipino vessels during the latest resupply mission, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Saturday.
AFP spokesperson Medel Aguilar shared this in a news forum after the Philippines successfully completed another resupply trip to its military outpost at Ayungin on Friday despite attempts by China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia vessels to again block their way.
“I also have a story to tell,\” Aguilar told the media. \”It’s about the karma that they experienced when they tried to shadow our resupply vessel.\”
“One of their rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) actually got entangled with a mooring line of a Filipino fishing boat that was around 50 yards from the BRP Sierra Madre,” he related, referring to an RHIB of the CCG.
Philippine troops proceeded to the area to offer help, but the official said China rejected the assistance.
“Of course, China refused because they don’t want Filipinos to be helping them,” Aguilar said.
When another Chinese RHIB came to the rescue, it also “got entangled” while in “a narrow portion of Ayungin Shoal,” although eventually it was able to free itself and the first boat, the spokesperson added.
According to Aguilar, the incident happened at around 11:30 a.m.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), said Philippine resupply boats successfully entered Ayungin a few minutes past 10:30 a.m. but were still tailed on their way back.
Earlier, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea reported that Chinese ships again conducted “dangerous maneuvers” and exhibited “aggressive conduct” in an attempt to stop the resupply mission.
But Aguilar said Beijing has distorted the narrative when it claimed that it was the Philippines that blocked its ships and conducted manuevers that caused the RHIB to get stuck.
“This is one narrative, probably, that they will again raise or tell their people about abuses that we are committing,” he said.
“I’m telling you this now because you should know that…after this incident they will come up with their own narrative to inform their people about what happened,\” Aguilar also said.
\”And it would be irresponsible for us not to be able to tell this to you immediately because we don’t want the truth to be drowned by propaganda coming from the China Coast Guard,” he added.
