DFA Sec. Enrique Manalo
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has conveyed to China its “complaint and displeasure” over the ramming by the China Coast Guard of Philippine vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal on Aug. 31.
This is apart from other incidents of Chinese harassment, including the blocking of a resupply mission to the Teresa Magbanua five days earlier.
“We have made the necessary approaches to China in terms of contacting them through various means to express our complaint and displeasure at what happened,” Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters on Monday.
READ: China says it is protecting its ‘rights’ after Philippine ship collision
Manalo said the Philippines also expressed its “concern about raising tensions over what was basically just [an] innocent movement by [a] Philippine vessel.”
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He said China responded to the complaint with the “usual” accusations, blaming the incident on the Teresa Magbanua, a vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
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“They have accused us, as usual, of doing this and that, but obviously it was just their doing this… [that they] were just moving and were surprised by this incident,” he said.
“I think in the coming days or weeks, we’ll probably have a better picture of where we’re headed for this,” Manalo said.
‘Pattern of actions’
Some of the country’s allies issued more pointed statements earlier during the weekend in condemning the incident.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea on Sunday said China’s actions “escalated tension[s] and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessel… and its personnel on board.”
The New Zealand Embassy in Manila called the incident “profoundly troubling,” adding that it “fits a recent pattern of dangerous and destabilizing actions in the region.”
British Ambassador Laure Beaufils said on X: “The United Kingdom is concerned about reports of yet more dangerous actions by a Chinese vessel near Sabina Shoal.”
“UK calls once again for respect for international law, including Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), and adherence to the 2016 arbitral award which is legally binding on the parties,” she also said.
The European Union also cited international law as it called the incident the latest in a series of actions which “endanger the safety of life at sea and violate the right to freedom of navigation and overflight to which all nations are entitled under international law.”
The bloc said it condemned the “dangerous actions by China Coast Guard vessels against lawful Philippine maritime operations.”
‘Bring it to next level’
In response, China urged the EU to be “objective and fair” and careful with its words and actions on issues regarding the South China Sea.
“The European Union is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to point fingers on [this matter],” said a statement by the Chinese mission to the EU.
China also said the EU’s repeated “hyping up” on freedom of navigation “has no benefits to [its] own interests and international credibility.”
Meanwhile, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Monday reiterated his call for the Philippine government to file another arbitration case against China.
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“We bring it to the next level, not just a note verbale, not just a diplomatic protest, let’s file a case,” he told dzBB in an interview, adding that this case would support the country’s claim for damages after China’s repeated attacks on PCG vessels.
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