The Chinese Embassy to the Philippines has denied reports that its coast guard "forcefully" retrieved the floating rocket debris from the Philippine Navy off Pag-asa Island last Sunday.
In a statement released Monday evening, it claimed that the reports were “inconsistent with the facts.”
Citing information from the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, the Embassy said its coast guard found the unidentified floating object in the waters off the Nansha Islands, which was later identified as the wreckage fairing of a China rocket.
It said that before the Chinese vessel's move to retrieve it, the Philippine Navy personnel already towed it.
The Embassy claimed that its coast guard had a “friendly consultation” with the Philippines before the handover of the object.
“The Chinese side expressed gratitude to the Philippine side. There was no so-called blocking of the course of a Philippine Navy boat and forcefully retrieving the object at the scene,” it said.
On Monday, Wescom Commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos reported that the Naval Station Emilio Liwanag (NSEL) team tried to retrieve the said floating object after they spotted it drifting 800 yards off Pag-asa Island.
However, the object was then "forcefully" taken by the Chinese coast guard.
Carlos said no Filipino soldiers were reported hurt during the incident.
The incident happened a day before United States Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled visit to Palawan Island, the edge of the disputed West Philippine Sea.
