Malaya: No promise made to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal

From CNN Philippines (Aug 8, 2023): Malaya: No promise made to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal (By Bamba Galang)

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 8) — The National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday denied the Philippines made a commitment to remove BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal as claimed by China.

"The PH has not and will never enter into any agreement abandoning its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Ayungin Shoal,” NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said in a statement.

BRP Sierra Madre, a US Navy ship used during World War II, has been at the Ayungin Shoal since 1999 and was intentionally grounded there to serve as a military outpost in the contested waters.

According to a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Manila made a commitment to remove the vessel, but has yet to act on it.

It also accused the Philippines of wanting to permanently occupy the Ayungin Shoal.

A former Defense chief further said that there was no promise made to China to remove the almost eight-decade-old warship, which ran aground in 1999.

"Hindi naman pwede na manggaling sa amin ang pangako eh kami nga ang nagsadsad noon [We cannot make that promise because we were the ones who put it there]. We never promised them anything," also former senator Orlando Mercado told CNN Philippines.

Mercado lamented the current state of the commissioned vessel at Ayungin, which he described as a "manifestation of lack of continuity."

Also called the Second Thomas Shoal, Ayungin is located 104 nautical miles west of Palawan and is well within the Philippines' 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Philippines maintains it has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Kalayaan island group, which China is also claiming through its nine-dash line.

A 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling, however, invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea. The tribunal largely ruled in favor of the Philippines in areas of its EEZ and continental shelf that are being claimed by China.

According to security expert Raymond Powell, China has been resorting to aggression whenever there are resupply missions going to Ayungin because it is part of its overall strategy to take over the shoal.

“The reason they’re blockading the Sierra Madre is because they want to make it uninhabitable," he told CNN Philippines' The Source on Tuesday.

"So, eventually, once the Philippine Navy leaves the Sierra Madre, whether it breaks up, slides off the shoal, simply becomes untenable, that gives China essentially possession of the shoal,” Powell also said.

Speaking to reporters, Malaya said it is the responsibility of the Philippines to maintain Sierra Madre not only to ensure the country keeps its presence, but also for the benefit of the troops based there.

“What we are doing is purely supply of our troops there," he emphasized. "As I said, sila nga nagmi-militarize ng mga ibang mga kapuluan (they are even militarizing some islands). Tayo, (For us) we are just supplying our troops to maintain our presence in the shoal."

On Aug. 5, the China Coast Guard (CCG) fired water cannon at Philippine vessels en route BRP Sierra Madre to bring supplies to military troops there.

Even prior to this, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela told CNN Philippines' The Source in another interview that the CCG was already seen shadowing Manila’s vessels deployed in Escoda Shoal while waiting for the resupply ships from Palawan.

Tarriela said the CCG obviously planned its moves as the number of Chinese ships intercepting the Philippine contingency gradually increased to six, which was the first time ever.

“They conducted dangerous maneuvers, blocking the Philippine Coast Guard and there was a need for the commanding officer to order the engine to stop at tsaka mag-backing kasi otherwise babangga sila (and to do backing otherwise they will crash),” he also said, noting that the distance then of one Chinese vessel was 10 meters.

Had the water cannon also directly hit the resupply boat, it could possibly have capsized, Tarriela said.

This was not the first time the CCG used water cannons against Philippine vessels, with the first one being in 2021.

While the Philippines also has its own water cannons, Tarriela said these are only used for firefighting.

Aside from filing diplomatic protests and deploying more vessels to support the resupply missions, Tarriela said modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PCG is vital to ensure Filipinos are well-equipped during these kinds of situations.

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/8/8/ph-no-promise-to-remove-brp-sierra-madre.html