Carlos: 1 boat was enough for Ayungin mission, not because China said so

UM4 TAKES ANOTHER HIT A frame grab from handout aerial video footage taken and released on March 23 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows China Coast Guard ships (left and right) deploying water cannons against the Philippine military-chartered civilian boat Unaizah May 4 (UM 4) during its supply mission near the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. —AFP

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The Philippines only used one boat in resupplying troops in Ayungin Shoal because its size was enough to deliver all the goods, not because China said so.

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, who is the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command chief, said the Unaizah Mae 4 was enough to carry all of the supplies for the BRP Sierra Madre, a military outpost grounded in the low-tide elevation.

“The operational requirement dictates the number of boats that we will use,” Carlos said in a press conference here when asked if the move of only deploying one boat was done to heed China’s demand.

“For this particular mission, UM4 is enough to carry all the personnel and supplies and that’s why we only used Unaizah Mae 4,” he also said.

Usually, two AFP-chartered boats were being used to replenish the BRP Sierra Madre, while being escorted by two Philippine Coast Guard ships.

Unaizah Mae 4, the biggest of the government’s four resupply boats, has been used twice for the resupply mission this month. It was used during the resupply missions on March 5 and 23 when it was met with a water cannon assault from China, causing damage to the vessel. These non-armed attacks caused seven injuries to Navy personnel.

READ: 4 PH Navy crew hurt by China Coast Guard’s water cannon attack

Beijing’s action is based on its assertion of ownership in the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila.

Carlos, who was aboard the Unaizah Mae 4 during the resupply mission on March 5, previously said the China Coast Guard, through a radio challenge, said it would only allow one ship to reach the BRP Sierra Madre. But he said the Navy personnel inside the boat did not acknowledge this.

The Philippine government has repeatedly asserted that there is no agreement with China with regard to the replenishment of the Navy outpost.

READ: China told PH it will only let 1 boat reach Ayungin – AFP official

Meanwhile, AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the personnel aboard BRP Sierra Madre have received supplies even as Unaizah Mae 4 did not manage to approach the outpost.

“Despite this, we were still partially successful,” Brawner said, saying that the supplies in Unaizah Mae 4 were transferred to the rigid hull inflatable boats, which brought it to BRP Sierra Madre.