Government denies downplaying recent Ayungin incident

“It is a deliberate act of the Chinese officialdom to prevent us from completing our mission. After our visit to our troops in Palawan yesterday, where the President personally talked to the troops involved in the Rore, we have now come to a conclusion that it was not a misunderstanding or an accident,” the statement read.

“We are not downplaying the incident. It was an aggressive and illegal use of force,” it added.

The officials maintained that the country’s policy that it will not give up an inch of its territory in the West Philippine Sea to any foreign power has not changed.

They reiterated that the government will not publish schedules of any Rore missions.

“We will continue to defend our territory and exercise sovereign rights thereon as we see fit. We reiterate that we seek neither permission nor consent from anyone in performing our sworn duties in the West Philippine Sea,” the statement read.

“In this regard, we will continue our rotation and resupply missions on a regular basis, the welfare of our troops in the BRP Sierra Madre being a matter of utmost importance,” it added.

The Philippines said it will continue to find peaceful solutions to ongoing dispute in the West Philippine Sea, as it maintained the pronouncement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the country is not in the business to instigate wars and that it is a responsible state.

On June 17, China Coast Guard personnel harassed navy troops who were then conducting a Rore mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. They used tear gas, pointed the troops bladed weapons, punctured the Philippine Navy’s rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) and destroyed the communication system of the boat and the cellphones of the Filipino personnel.

Eight navy personnel were injured during the incident, including one who lost his thumb due to the “intentional high-speed ramming” by the CCG to a Philippine vessel.

It took around 12 hours to rescue the wounded personnel due to the continued harassment of China.

Earlier, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said they do not consider the incident as an armed attack as it may be “a misunderstanding or an accident.”

Marcos commended the navy troops who participated in the Rore mission and awarded the wounded personnel. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)