PH summons chargé d’affaires: ‘China has no right to be in Ayungin’

SURROUNDED This frame grab from aerial video footage taken and released on March 23, 2024, by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows a China Coast Guard ship and vessels identified by PCG as “Chinese Maritime Militia” (left and right) surrounding the PCG ship BRP Cabra during its supply mission near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Photo by AFP/PCG

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned China’s Charge d’affaires in the country as Manila protests Beijing’s latest aggressive actions against the Philippines’ resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea.

DFA Spokesperson Teresita Daza told reporters that DFA Deputy Assistant Secretary Raphael Hermoso was the one who summoned Chinese embassy Charge d’affaires Zhou Zhiyong on Monday morning.

In a statement released around 11 a.m. on Monday, Daza said the DFA has instructed the Philippine embassy in Beijing to lodge a similar protest before the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs there.

“In these demarches, the Philippines stressed, among others, that China has no right to be in Ayungin Shoal, a low-tide elevation that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and as affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award,” the DFA official pointed out.

READ: PH vessel sustains ‘heavy damage’ in Chinese coast guard attack

Daza, in a another statement released around 1 p.m also on Monday, said DFA Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro had a telephone call with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong on Monday morning.

During the call, Lazaro expressed the Philippines “strongest protest” against China’s newest aggressive acts in the West Philippine Sea.

‘Unacceptable’ China interference at Ayungin

China’s intrusion delaying the Philippines’ activities at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea is not acceptable, Daza likewise emphasized in the first statement.

On March 23, the Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that the China Coast Guard fired water cannon at a Philippine supply vessel en route to Ayungin Shoal for a rotation and resupply mission, causing “heavy damage” to the ship.

“China’s continued interference with the Philippines’ routine and lawful activities in its own exclusive economic zone is unacceptable. It infringes upon the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” she said.

The Philippines demanded that “Chinese vessels leave the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal and the Philippine exclusive economic zone immediately,” she further said.

READ: Philippines foreign minister urges China: ‘Stop harassing us’

Daza also noted that the Philippines has made “sincere efforts” to lower the tension in the disputed waters, but China’s aggressive actions persist.

“China’s aggressive actions call into question its sincerity in lowering the tensions and promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the DFA spokesperson said.

“Even as the Philippines continues to engage China in dialogue and diplomacy at the bilateral and multilateral levels, China’s aggressive actions contradict and put to waste ASEAN-China efforts to promote practical activities to foster peace and cooperation in the region,” she also said.

Daza asserted that China should “take the correct track of abiding by the international law and respecting the rights of the Philippines and other states” and “cease and desist from its continued violation” of international law.

Since January, the Philippines filed 14 note verbales against China; and since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office in 2022, Manila lodged 147 diplomatic protests Beijing for its continued intrusion in the West Philippine Sea.