Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Thursday it has seen some improvement in China’s behavior in parts of the West Philippine Sea after its coast guard were exposed as harassing Philippine ships inside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said exposing China’s incursions in Philippine waters helped in changing China’s behavior towards Philippine ships in the area.
“In some features of the West Philippine Sea, we can already see some of the changes of behavior of the Chinese Coast Guard. Before they were aggressive all over the West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said in an interview with ANC.
But the PCG also noted that the Chinese Coast Guard is particularly aggressive in the Ayungin Shoal, which China calls “Ren’ai Reef.”
“What is happening in Ayungin Shoal is different from the entire operation of the Chinese Coast Guard and our deployment of the Philippine Coast Guard vessels in the entire West Philippine Sea,” Tarriela said.
The Ayungin Shoal is a disputed area in the South China Sea, controlled by the Philippine military but claimed by Beijing.
The PCG’s latest assessment followed yet another incident in Ayungin Shoal where Chinese vessels harassed Philippine ships in a recent support mission.
The incident took place on June 29 while the PCG were escorting the naval operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command (WESCOM).
Despite a 2016 ruling from a United Nations backed tribunal that favored Philippines’ claim and ruled China’s claims as illegitimate, Beijing has been aggressive in its military activities in the South China Sea and refuses to recognize the decision.
In recent years, China has built artificial islands on reefs while constructing military facilities and airstrips.
On Wednesday, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian paid a courtesy call to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. to discuss China and the Philippines’ defense and military relations as well as maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea (SCS).
“I had the pleasure to pay a call on Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. at the Department of National Defense (DND),” Xilian said on Facebook.
“We had a constructive discussion on promoting defense and military relations between China and the Philippines, and maintaining peace and stability in the region,” the envoy added.
According to the DND, the meeting stressed the enhancement of the two countries’ defense relations through the implementation of existing bilateral mechanisms, and dialogue platforms including the Philippines-China Annual Defense and Security Talks.
Japan has expressed deep concern on China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and in the West Philippine Sea, saying the Chinese activities endanger peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
In a statement, the Japanese Embassy in Manila accused the Chinese Coast Guard of committing “aggressive actions” when it blocked the path of the Philippine ship.
“During the operation, the PCG was constantly followed, harassed, and obstructed by the significantly larger Chinese Coast Guard vessels at a distance of approximately 100 yards,” the PCG reported.
Japan also protested against China’s incursion into its own waters.
“As China’s unilateral actions such as repeated intrusions into Japan’s waters around the Senkaku Islands in the ECS, China’s dangerous behavior in the South China Sea in defiance of the 2016 arbitration award is a grave concern for regional peace and stability,” the embassy said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs had repeatedly lodged diplomatic protests against China’s dangerous activities in the South China Sea and incursions into the West Philippine Sea.
As of July 5, DFA said, the Philippine government already filed 427 diplomatic protests against Beijing just for the past three years—30 of which were just filed in 2023.
In other developments:
• An Australian official said his country would maintain its presence in the region, including the South China Sea. Peter Sawczak of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, who was here for the 3rd Philippine-Australia Maritime Dialogue on July 5, said his country will continue promoting international law and a rules-based regional order. “In 2013, the Philippine government took the significant step of initiating arbitral action under UNCLOS. Nearly seven years have passed since the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award was issued. Australia reaffirms that this award is final and binding on the parties,” he said.
• Poland said it is one with the Philippines in upholding the rules-based international order and maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, during a courtesy call by Polish Chargé d’affaires Jarosław Szczepankiewicz on Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. on June 30.
— Vince Lopez and Rey E. Requejo
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