Tarriela reiterates: PH won’t use water cannons vs Chinese vessels

This frame grab from handout video footage taken and released on April 30, 2024 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Bagacay (C) being hit by water cannon from Chinese coast guard vessels near the chinese-controlled Scarborough shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon on April 30 at two of its vessels, causing damage to one of them, during a patrol near a reef off the Southeast Asian country. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela maintained on Saturday that Philippine vessels will not use water cannons amid the harassment of Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea.

According to Tarriela, who is also the spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Philippine vessels will not be provoked into retaliation and they should not be the reason in case Chinese vessels intensify their aggression.

READ:Water cannon vs China? No, PCG to remain professional, Tarriela says 

“We have a chain of command. We respect the guidance of the present. The guidance of the present says that we should not be provoked, we should not be the reason for intensifying the escalation for China to justify once again bringing the next level of aggression kung anuman ang plano nila (whatever their plan is),” Tarriela said in a news forum.

Tarriela already said last Thursday that the PCG will remain professional despite China’s attacks, but he reiterated his statement in response to the public’s comments suggesting that Philippine vessels should use retaliatory action against Chinese vessels that use water cannons against the country’s ships.

“We have to maintain professionalism in dealing with this kind of bullying of the Chinese Coast Guard,” he added.

The official added that if the public feels anger over the events, the personnel aboard the vessels feel even more emotions when they are subjected to the water cannon attacks.

READ: China used ‘very fatal’ water cannon pressure in latest assault—PCG

“The high emotions that you feel multiply it, double it, that’s what perhaps the same level of emotions that our Coast Guard personnel also feel,” Tarriela added.

The latest water cannon attack from Chinese vessels took place on May 1, and Tarriela described the attack as “very fatal.”