US hits China’s harassment of PH mission to Ayungin

MANILA, Philippines — The United States condemned on Sunday China’s interference in a Philippine humanitarian rotation and resupply (Rore) mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea earlier in the week.

In a statement, US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton called out the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) for “irresponsible maneuvers” that threatened a collision with a Philippine vessel and prevented a lawful and routine Rore mission.

“We stand by our Philippine allies and laud their professionalism and restraint,” Lipton said. “We call on the China Coast Guard and PLAN to cease the use of escalatory tactics that threaten the freedom of navigation and a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

READ: AFP mission aborted due to Chinese ships

The Armed Forces of the Philippines earlier said eight Chinese warships and CCG vessels interfered in a Philippine Navy mission to deliver essential supplies to Filipino troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin.

The harassment occurred from 8:35 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday while the Philippine supply ship MV Lapu-Lapu, along with three Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) support vessels, were around 60 nautical miles of the shoal.

Security assistance

The Chinese side, the AFP said, hindered the mission with continuous radio calls and monitoring, and got near the Philippine ships.

The PCG said the mission was called off at 11:08 p.m. for the safety of Filipino personnel. The PCG’s BRP Malabrigo was deployed to “provide security assistance” during the mission.

China keeps asserting its claim to almost the entire South China Sea, a claim that overlaps with the Philippines’ maritime entitlements in the West Philippine Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The post US hits China’s harassment of PH mission to Ayungin appeared first on Inquirer.net.