President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is taking the latest collision incident in the West Philippine Sea “very seriously,” Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said on Monday.
Teodoro said this in a Palace briefing after Marcos convened a special command conference on Monday morning to discuss the incident, which involved a China Coast Guard vessel colliding with a Philippine resupply boat off Ayungin Shoal.
“The President is taking this very seriously. And the President… well that’s it, he’s taking this very very seriously so much so that he called a special command conference this morning,” Teodoro said.
The President’s reaction is understandable, given the “false narrative” of China and its “more egregious and aggressive behavior,” Teodoro pointed out.
“We cannot take this or tolerate this kind of action or take it lightly or neither take it lightly nor tolerate it,” the Defense Secretary added.
China Coast Guard (CCG) ship 5203 allegedly hit Unaiza Mae 2 intentionally at 6:04 a.m. on Sunday, 22 October.
After the incident, Chinese maritime militia vessel 00003 hit BRP Cabra’s port side, endangering Filipino personnel aboard the Philippine ship.
Teodoro also said he doubted China’s seriousness in hosting Code of Conduct talks or the norms or rules for opposing claimants’ ships and aircraft in the South China Sea.
“I think it is really very ironic that on this very day is the start of the second round of discussions on the proposed Code of Conduct which is hosted by China whereas just yesterday, they are in blatant disregard of international law within our jurisdiction,” Teodoro said.
“What kind of good faith can we expect from them? That we will wait for our representatives to that Code of Conduct meeting to disclose or report to our people,” Teodoro added.
China’s recent obstruction of a Philippine resupply operation to Ayungin Shoal has drawn international condemnation.
US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said China’s blocking efforts “put the lives of Filipino service members at risk.”
Canadian ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman also criticized “the unlawful and dangerous CCG conduct.”