Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 11) — China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday said that its repeated blasting of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers against Filipino vessels over the weekend were “professional, restrained, justified and legitimate,” despite the global backlash for its continued harassment and incursions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
On Saturday, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) repeatedly used water cannons on Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels conducting a humanitarian mission to fisherfolk in Bajo De Masinloc. They also reportedly deployed a “Long-range Acoustic Device” or sound cannon, which caused severe discomfort and incapacitated Filipino crew members.
The following Sunday, the CCG again drenched civilian boats contracted by the military to deliver supplies to a Filipino outpost in Ayungin Shoal, causing serious engine damage to one of the vessels.
Later that day, Chinese ships shadowed and conducted dangerous maneuvers on a civilian convoy traversing the WPS, nearly resulting in a head-on collision and prompting the contingent to abort its mission.
This series of aggressive actions prompted Manila to lodge a fresh diplomatic protest against Beijing. Some lawmakers even called for China’s envoy to the Philippines to be declared a persona non grata.
READ: DFA: Persona non grata tag for Chinese envoy needs ‘serious consideration’
Mao Ning, a spokesperson of the MOFA, said Beijing filed its own “serious demarche in strong protest” against Manila.
The MOFA blamed the Philippines for the recent acts of aggression perpetrated by China within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
China also reiterated its claim that Ayungin Shoal, which it calls Ren’Ai Jiao, fell under its sovereignty. It also accused the Philippines of breaking its promise to remove the BRP Sierra Madre, Manila’s outpost in the shoal.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other former presidents have denied the existence of such a promise.
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea voided Beijing’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which overlapped with the portion Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.
It also ruled that Ayungin Shoal, 106.3 nautical miles (NM) from Palawan and within Manila’s 200 NM EEZ, was a low-tide elevation and therefore cannot be subjected to sovereignty claims.
Following China’s latest transgressions, Marcos on Sunday night said that any foreign claims over the West Philippine Sea were baseless, and that only the Philippines had legal basis to operate within the contested waters.
READ: Marcos: Only PH has the legal basis to operate in WPS
