Navy ship driven away by Ch denied
By J.Lo
"That is just propaganda by Chinese…it's not true, there is no truth to it," , Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said reports that China Coast Guard (CCG) was able to force or drive away Philippine Navy vessel to leave Panatag or Scarborough Shoal in West Philippine Sea (WPS) are untrue and "nothing but mere propaganda" originating from Beijing.
And even if CCG tries, Brawner said military would not allow Chinese vessels to force Philippine Navy to leave its own territorial waters.
"If ever, if we have ships there… we will not leave…that's their report," AFP chief declared, noting there is no Philippine Navy vessel in Panatag Shoal.
He said upon verification, Philippine Navy vessel did pass through the area to conduct maritime patrol operations at around 9:30 in the morning.
CCG, he shared, issued radio challenges to Philippine vessel but navy ship just continued with its mission without stopping or changing direction.
"We verified, we had navy ship in vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc but its mission is maritime patrol… ship was moving and Coast Guard of China challenged it, our navy ship just continued because it was not being driven away, it was doing its mission, maritime patrol… not driven away, so our stand is that it is just propaganda of China…still propaganda" Brawner said, emphasizing China's version of what happened was inaccurate.
He added Philippine Navy ship will not leave area if asked to by Chinese Coast Guard because it is in country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
He clarified Philippine Navy's presence in the area is down south of Panatag Shoal and even when Philippine Coast Guard removed China's floating barriers, Philippine Navy was not there.
Brawner believes such propaganda is being used because China is concerned with its internal audience and wants to show their leadership is doing something to look good.
As these developed ,reaching hundreds of thousands of motorists and commuters daily, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert Teodoro is now making use of EDSA's digital billboards to publicly declare Philippine government's firm effort to stand up against China's bullying in waters of WPS.
"If we don't stop them, China is going to creep and creep into what is within our sovereign jurisdiction, our sovereign rights and within our territory," his statement reads on large LED screens along EDSA.
Teodoro's statement appears to have been lifted from his earlier pronouncements against China's continuing presence, harassment and coercive behavior in WPS where CCG and maritime militia vessels swarm and repeatedly try to block resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
In his Instagram account, DND chief noted 2016 Arbitral Award by The Hague favored Philippines in maritime dispute case, with verdict determining that "China lacked legal foundation for asserting historical rights over majority of South China Sea."
"Despite this ruling, Beijing has chosen to disregard it and persistently increase its influence in the region, behavior that can be seen as an act of bullying, we are determine to ensure this doesn't occur, standing resolute and unwavering in our commitment to safeguard and preserve integrity of our nation's territory," he stressed.
Teodoro believes Filipinos are always willing to talk but such talks should be substantial and must have rules-based basis.
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