The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Saturday called the presence of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) in the West Philippine Sea, also known as the South China Sea, a “misplaced bully”.
“What we do in our own backyard is not of their concern. So why coordinate with them in the first place? Kaya ang sinasabi ko nga kanina, China Coast Guard is a misplaced bully in the West Philippine Sea, in our maritime zone,” AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguillar told the media in a forum in Quezon City.
He remarked this after two CCG vessels and 10 maritime militia vessels attempted to block the AFP ships, assisted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships, during a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal on Friday, Sept. 8.
But despite these acts, the AFP and PCG have successfully concluded their resupply mission.
After the blocking incident, Aguillar recounted that a CCG ship got tangled with the cable of a PH fishing boat, but it refused to accept help.
“The karma that they experienced when they tried to shadow our resupply vessel. Our troops stationed at Sierra Madre offered their assistance, and of course, China refused the help because they don’t want Filipinos to be helping them,” he said.
The AFP spokesperson added that CCG even had the “guts” to issue radio challenges to the PH vessels.
Earlier, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) condemned China’s aggressive and destabilizing conduct against Philippine Navy ships during their resupply mission.
"We reiterate and reemphasize that these operations are pursuant to our government's legitimate exercise of its administrative functions and jurisdictions over the West Philippine Sea, firmly anchored on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the final bidding 2016 Arbitral Award," the NTF-WPS said.
