Sending supplies to BRP Sierra Madre within PH rights, cannot be meddled with

From CNN Philippines (Aug 8, 2023): Sending supplies to BRP Sierra Madre within PH rights, cannot be meddled with (By CNN Philippines Staff)

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 8) — Only essentials to sustain troops are brought to the BRP Sierra Madre, according to a National Security Council (NSC) official, who stressed that carrying supplies to the vessel at Ayungin Shoal is within the Philippines’ rights and cannot be interfered with.

“Ang dinadala natin doon ay mga bagay na kailangan ng ating tropa. We are not bringing things that are not essential,” NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya told the media on Tuesday.

“Kung anuman yung mga kailangan nilang dalhin, we are well within our rights na dalhin yun, at hindi tayo pwedeng diktahan kung ano yung mga dadalhin natin at hindi natin dadalhin,” Malaya added.

[Translation: What we are bringing there are things that our troops need. We are not bringing things that are not essential. Whatever we need to bring, we are well within our rights to bring that, and we cannot be dictated to what we can and cannot bring.]

The Chinese Coast Guard earlier said it fired water cannons at Philippine vessels en route to Ayungin Shoal to block them for carrying “illegal building materials” and breaking into waters under China’s jurisdiction.

“Sila nga nagmimilitarize ng ibang mga pulo, naglalagay ng kung ano anong radar tapos batteries [Them, they militarize other islands, installing some kind of radar and batteries]. Tayo, we are just supplying our troops to maintain our presence in the shoal,” the NSC official said.

The commissioned vessel is situated at Ayungin, also known as the Second Thomas Shoal, which is 104 nautical miles west of Palawan and lies within the Philippines' 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Philippines claims sovereignty and control over the Kalayaan island group, which China insists is under its jurisdiction via its “nine-dash line” claim.

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.

Malaya also pointed out that it is the Philippines’ responsibility to maintain the BRP Sierra Madre “for the benefit of our troops there” and failure to do so reflects negligence on the part of the national government.

China ‘impeded’ PH’s legitimate resupply mission

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) asserted that the BRP Sierra Madre serves as a permanent station for Filipino military troops sent to preserve and secure the country's rights and interests in the West Philippine Sea.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Manila made a commitment to remove the vessel but has yet to act on it. Malaya also denied this.

The DFA further emphasized that the resupply mission and repair of the BRP Sierra Madre are “part of regular operations in line with domestic and international law.”

According to the DFA, the recent water cannon incident “impeded” the country’s “legitimate and regular activities” in its own EEZ, violating the 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea, the 2016 South China Sea arbitration, among other international maritime laws.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) made the same statement, stressing that the Philippines will continue “protecting and upholding [its] legal maritime entitlements.”

“The Philippines demands that China immediately stop its coercive, unlawful, and unjustifiable activities in our maritime zones,” the NTF-WPS said in a statement.

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/8/8/Supplies-to-Sierra-Madre-PH-rights-cannot-be-meddled.html