Solons hit China: We don’t need your nod to operate over WPS
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the House of Representatives’ Young Guns bloc have questioned China’s latest interference during a rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission to Ayungin Shoal, saying that local authorities do not need to seek permission to operate in an area that belongs to the Philippines.
In a joint statement, the House Young Guns said that Filipino troops do not have to seek permission from China as they are moving within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — since Ayungin or the Second Thomas Shoal is well within the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ.
The statement was issued by Deputy Speakers Paolo Ortega V and Jefferson Khonghun, along with Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong and Manila Rep. Ernix Dionisio.
“What is this now? Only you believe what you are saying. We do not need your permission,” the lawmakers said.
READ: AFP suspends Ayungin resupply mission after Chinese vessels interfere
“Our personnel were delivering sustainment and rotating Filipinos stationed on a commissioned Philippine naval vessel inside our exclusive economic zone. That is a sovereign duty. It does not require Beijing’s permission,” they added.
The Young Guns bloc was referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) decision to suspend their RoRe mission to Ayungin Shoal last Sept. 24, after Chinese coast guard and naval vessels interfered with the Philippine convoy.
The mission was meant to deliver supplies and rotate personnel stationed aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, which was deliberately beached at Ayungin, and is now acting as an outpost at the region.
AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said on Friday that three People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships and five China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels interfered with the routine mission.
The M/V Lapu-Lapu and three Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard support vessels were still about 111 kilometers from Ayungin Shoal when they were hindered by the Chinese vessels.
According to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, China was asserting its position in the WPS after the latest interference of Chinese coast guard and naval vessels against a Philippine convoy.
READ: China asserting position in WPS after latest interference – Tarriela
But the lawmakers believe that even if China calls the activity as mere monitoring, it is not lawful since the area is within the Philippines’ EEZ.
“Calling that ‘monitoring’ does not make it lawful,” the Young Guns lawmakers said.
They also urged authorities to continue doing the mission, as local and international laws have declared that the WPS belongs to the Philippines.
“Continue the missions. Record every hazardous encounter,” they said. “The West Philippine Sea is ours under the Constitution, (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or) Unclos, and a binding award. We will not leave our troops unsupported.”
Last Sunday, the United States (US) condemned China’s interference, with US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton saying that the CCG and the PLAN made “irresponsible maneuvers” that threatened a collision with a Philippine vessel and prevented a lawful and routine resupply mission to the shoal.
READ: US hits China over interference in PH resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal
“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,” he added.
This is not the first time that CCG vessels tried to drive away local authorities from carrying out Rore missions. Just this July, the AFP reported that a Navy personnel was injured after members of the CCG assaulted him during a confrontation at Ayungin Shoal.
AFP said that a CCG rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) with eight personnel, coming from vessel CCGV 21560, unlawfully approached within close range of the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin. It circled and took photos and videos, prompting two AFP rubber boats “to calmly and non‑confrontationally drive it away.”
However, the military said the situation escalated when CCG personnel “reacted violently and aggressively” by striking a Philippine Navy personnel on the head with a wooden baton, causing an injury and damaging the Navy rubber boat.
READ: China behaves like ‘riding-in-tandem’ criminals over waters, solon says
The WPS, a body of water that forms part of the South China Sea, is inside the western side of the Philippines’ EEZ. China however has insisted ownership on many islands inside the WPS, despite the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) award in 2016 which stated that the Philippines has exclusive rights over its waters.
Incidents between the two countries over this area have occurred several times, and are well-documented. In August 2023, a CCG vessel water-cannoned Philippine vessels which were only trying to bring supplies to soldiers at BRP Sierra Madre.
In response to the event, China claimed that a former administration promised to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin, but the promise has not been acted upon. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. then said that he has not made that agreement, and if such a deal exists, it has already been terminated. /das
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