MANILA – The United States of America condemns China’s latest actions or what it calls “disruption” of the resupply mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to Ayungin Shoal Sunday morning.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay L. Carlson said that “the United States condemns PRC’s latest disruption of the legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal”.
Carlson adds that such actions are “putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk” and reiterates the “United States stand with friends, partners, and allies in protecting Philippine sovereignty and in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
In a statement released by the National Task Force For the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), it condemns in the strongest degree the latest actions by the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia, calling it “dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal”.
The statement also stressed that such actions are “in violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction and in utter blatant disregard of the United Nations Charter, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) and relevant international maritime conventions, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.”
Earlier, a Chinese vessel collided with a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) chartered boat tasked to deliver supplies for Filipino troops in Ayungin Shoal.
According to the NTF-WPS, the incident happened at 0604H Sunday morning, when a China Coast Guard vessel (CCGV 5203) made “dangerous blocking maneuvers” causing it to collide with an AFP-contracted indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2 (UM2), which “imperiled the safety of the crew of UM2.”
Despite the incident, the NTF-WPS confirms that the routine Rotation and Resupply (RORE) mission has successfully delivered supplies to Filipino troops stationed on BRP Sierra Madre by a second Philippine vessel, the Unaiza May 1 (UM1).
Meanwhile, the China Coast Guard also released a statement through the China Coast Guard News, saying that the Philippine ship “trespassed into the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands”, intercepting the vessel in accordance with China’s law.
According to China Coast Guard Spokesperson Gan Yu, the CCG vessel made “multiple warnings” but were ignored by the Philippine vessel Unaiza May 2 and made “unprofessional and dangerous” maneuvers while ignoring warnings by the CCG.
Because of said actions, CCG called the incident a “malicious collision” when then Unaiza May 2 “reversed on its own initiative” causing the rear of the vessel to collide with the starboard side of the “parked” and “drifting" Qiongsansha Fishing vessel.
China Coast Guard claims that the “Philippines’ actions seriously violated the international rules for avoiding collisions at sea and threatened the navigation safety of our ships,” adding that their operations were “professional, standardized, legitimate and legal” and puts the responsibility of the incident entirely with the Philippines.
