FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the BRP Sierra Madre on the contested Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on March 9, 2023. AFP Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos reveals on Friday, Maarch 8, 2024, that the China Coast Guard (CCG) told the Philippine resupply contingent that it will only allow one ship to reach the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal during a resupply mission on March 5. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The China Coast Guard (CCG) told the Philippine resupply contingent that it will only allow one ship to reach the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) official revealed Friday.
AFP Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said the Navy considered the CCG’s radio challenges to Unaizah Mae 4 (UM4) as a provocation which it chose to ignore as they proceeded with their resupply mission on Tuesday, March 5.
Carlos was aboard the resupply vessel, which was water cannoned by two CCG ships. This incident resulted in the injury of four Navy personnel.
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“We did not [acknowledge],” Carlos said in a text message to INQUIRER.net when asked about their response to China’s radio challenges.
“The response of UM4 is the standard radio reply,” stating that they are conducting a legitimate mission inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, he added.
The UM4, which is the biggest resupply boat for the BRP Sierra Madre, only sustained minor damage after China’s assault, according to Carlos.
The UM4 was deployed for the first time on Tuesday to test if it could come close to the BRP Sierra Madre. Due to the depth of its hull, there is a risk of the boat running aground the sandbank.
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Carlos said the UM4 will be used again for the next mission to Ayungin Shoal, where military troops are stationed since 1999. The BRP Sierra Madre was grounded on Ayungin Shoal to assert Manila’s claim to the low-tide elevation.
Beijing’s latest action is based on its belief that it owns almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidate by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling.