Chinese acted like pirates – AFP chief

THE China Coast Guard (CCG) that boarded Filipino boats and seized guns on board acted like pirates, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Wednesday as he demanded the return of their firearms.

“We are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment, and we are also demanding for them to pay [for] the damage that they have caused. They should pay because we will not allow them to just destroy and take our equipment,” Brawner said.

He said what the Chinese did can be considered piracy.

This handout photograph taken on June 17, 2024 and released by Armed Forces of the Philippines-Public Affairs Office (AFP-PAO) on June 19 shows destroyed windshield with communication and navigational equipments of a Philippine navy boat. The Philippine military said on June 19, the Chinese coast guard rammed and boarded Filipino navy boats in a violent confrontation in the South China Sea this week in which a Filipino sailor lost a thumb. China defended its actions, with its foreign ministry saying that “no direct measures” were taken against Filipino personnel. ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES-PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE / AFP 

“They boarded our boats illegally. They got our equipment. They acted like pirates,” Brawner said.

Rear Adm. Alfonso Torres told reporters the firearms had been stored in the boats crewed by Filipino sailors, who were under orders not to display their weapons in Monday’s confrontation off Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.

Meanwhile, the seaman who lost his thumb during the June 17 resupply mission to Filipino troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal said he was willing to return to the West Philippine Sea despite the injury he sustained.

On Wednesday, Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jefferson Facundo was bestowed with the Wounded Personnel Medal by Brawner during his visit to the Western Command in Palawan.

“As we have said, that award is the hardest to get [for us at AFP],” Brawner quipped as he pinned the medal on the wounded naval personnel.

The AFP chief told Facundo to get well and not to lose hope “because we are here…. Whatever you need, just tell us. Just tell us if you have a problem.”

Brawner also asked the injured patient if he would like to return to Ayungin Shoal once he was well. To which Facundo immediately responded, without hesitation: “Yes!”

“Kahit saan, sir. Basta may order (Anywhere, sir. As long as there is an order),” he told Brawner.

Brawner said he would give awards to all Filipino personnel who took part in the mission.

He also asked Facundo if the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was taking good care of him while he recuperated.

Brawner said PCG personnel were the ones who rescued and gave first aid to the seven Filipino troops who sustained injuries after Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N), China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) vessels intercepted the six Filipino ships conducting the resupply mission.

CCG personnel even boarded one of the rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) and confiscated the weapons of the Filipino troops onboard.

“We saw in the video how the Chinese even threatened our personnel by pointing their knives. Despite this, our soldiers fought. They fought with their bare hands,” said Brawner.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reiterated its call for China to adhere to international law and respect the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in its “own waters.”

The DFA particularly mentioned the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 Arbitral Award that China refuses to recognize.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016 invalidated China’s nine-dash line doctrine in the South China Sea, which encroached on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DFA expressed grave concern over the latest incident at the Ayungin shoal and denounced the “illegal and aggressive actions of Chinese authorities that resulted in [Philippine Navy] personnel injury and vessel damage.”

Also on Wednesday, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez condemned China’s unilateral enforcement of rules that allow its coast guard to detain foreigners suspected of trespassing in South China Sea waters, it claims.

The reported effectivity date for the Regulations on Administrative Law Enforcement Procedures for Coast Guard Agencies was June 15.

“This rule has no basis in law. It violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling in favor of our country,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez questioned the CCG’s reported boarding of a Philippine vessel sent on a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, saying the shoal is within the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“It is the Chinese who are trespassing in our EEZ. We should be the ones apprehending and detaining them,” he said.