Washington DC, Aug 19 (IANS): The United States on Monday strongly condemned the Chinese Coast Guard's "dangerous manoeuvres" endangering the lives of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel during a confrontation that occurred in the West Philippine Sea earlier in the day.
"The US stands with the Philippines in condemning the China Coast Guard's dangerous manoeuvres near Sabina Shoal that endangered lives and caused damage to two Philippine Coast Guard vessels. We are committed to supporting the rights of our friends-partners-allies under international law," the US Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Loss Carlson, stated in a post on X.
According to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), PCG vessels BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engano (MRRV-4411) encountered "unlawful and aggressive manoeuvres" from Chinese Coast Guard vessels while en route to Patag and Lawak Islands in the West Philippine Sea. These dangerous manoeuvres resulted in collisions, causing structural damage to both PCG vessels.
"At approximately 3:24 AM, while navigating about 23.01 nautical miles southeast of Escoda Shoal, BRP Cape Engano was subjected to aggressive manoeuvres by CCGV- 3104. This resulted in a collision with the starboard beam of the vessel, creating a hole on the deck with an approximate diameter of 5 inches," said NTF-WPS spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
The task force urged restraint and adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other relevant international laws to prevent further escalations and ensure the safety of all vessels operating in the region.
The Philippine News Agency said that Malaya, who is also an Assistant Director General at the Philippines' National Security Council, said that the NTF-WPS was disappointed with the latest incident, which came just weeks after Manila and Beijing reached an initial understanding on easing tensions over the Ayungin Shoal.
"We are, of course, disappointed again with this development coming from the preliminary understanding because we have a preliminary understanding with them in so far as Second Thomas Shoal is concerned, or BRP Sierra Madre is concerned, but despite this preliminary understanding which we hope was the first page in a new chapter between (the) Philippines and PRC (People's Republic of China) relations," the agency quoted Malaya as saying at an online forum.
The council said that the collisions caused structural damage to both PCG vessels, but despite the incident, both vessels continued their mission to deliver essential supplies to personnel stationed on the Patag and Lawak Islands.
The PCG also affirmed its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the nation's maritime domain while addressing any threats to national interests.
The United States has maintained that the escalatory incident is the latest in a series of Chinese provocations in the region, with Beijing showing consistent disregard for the safety of Filipinos and for international law in the South China Sea.
"As unanimously decided by an international tribunal in July 2016, the PRC has no lawful maritime claims to the waters around Second Thomas Shoal – a low-tide feature clearly within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. As provided under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, the decision is final and legally binding on the PRC and the Philippines," US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller had said after a June 17 incident when the use of water cannons, ramming, blocking manoeuvres, towing by the Chinese vessels damaged Philippine vessels engaged in delivering humanitarian supplies to service members stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre.