MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) hit Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels escorting boats in a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea with one of the strongest water cannons in the world, National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said Wednesday.
During the Laging Handa Public Briefing, Malaya pointed out that CCG’s water cannon is powerful it can topple a wooden vessel as it has put the lives of Philippine military personnel in danger.
On August 5, the CCG attacked PCG vessels using water cannon while it was escorting boats carrying supplies for Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel aboard the grounded BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal. The Philippine government and the international community condemned this aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
“’Yung lakas ng water cannon ng Coast Guard ng Tsina ay pwede pong pataubin ‘yung wooden vessel na ‘yun. Iyang klaseng water canon na iyan, isa iyan sa mga pinaka-malakas sa buong mundo. So in other words, they placed the lives of our personnel in the supply ships at risk,” said Malaya in the Laging Handa Public Briefing.
(The power of the water cannon of the Coast Guard of China can overturn that wooden vessel. That kind of water canon, it’s one of the strongest in the world. So in other words, they placed the lives of our personnel in the supply ships at risk.)
Malaya also rejected the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry that the CCG’s “maneuvers were professional, restrained and beyond reproach.” He likewise reiterated that there is no record of China’s claim that the Philippines ever agreed to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal.
READ: China claims PH has yet to remove BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal as promised
“How can the Chinese government say that their conduct was professional, restrained and beyond reproach, eh tayo po dalawang coast guard vessels lang, eh sila anim na coast guard vessels na dambuhala – dalawang Chinese militia vessels at mayroon pang apat o limang People’s Liberation Navy vessels. So how can it be called as restrained?” he pointed out.
(How can the Chinese government say that their conduct was professional, restrained and beyond reproach, we are only two coast guard vessels, they are six monster coast guard vessels – two Chinese militia vessels and there are four or five People’s Liberation Navy vessels. So how can it be called as restrained?)
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