By Junex Doronio
WARY OF A POSSIBLE CONFLICT, the National Security Council (NSC) on Tuesday said it “does not support” a planned December 5 civilian resupply mission by Atin Ito Coalition to Ayungin Shoal where the BRP Sierra Madre was grounded as a symbol of the country’s sovereignty over the area which is also being claimed by China.
NSC spokesperson Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya clarified that the council supports the intent of the Atin Ito Coalition “in principle” but said, “undertaking such a convoy to Ayungin Shoal at this time of heightened tensions between the Philippines and China is ill-advised.”
“The National Security Council does not support the planned Christmas Convoy to BRP Sierra Madre (LS 57) in Ayungin Shoal or any similar undertaking to the said shoal,” Malaya said in a statement.
To recall, the BRP Sierra Madre is a World War II-era ship that was deliberately grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999 during the administration of then President Joseph “Erap” Estrada to serve as a military outpost over the contested waters.
It has since become a symbol of the Philippine sovereignty over the Ayungin Shoal which is only 115 nautical miles away from Palawan.
“We have a right to be there because that’s our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), and the coastal state that has the jurisdiction over the EEZ has the right to put up structures in its EEZ,” former Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said.
But on October 9, the Chinese foreign ministry insisted on its claim over Ayungin Shoal which it calls Ren’ai Jiao, saying the territory was never owned by the Philippines.
Carpio, however, said that if China attacks the permanent structure in Ayungin Shoal, the Philippines can report the case to the international arbitral tribunal.
The United States has also reaffirmed its commitment to defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack by an external force.
(ai/mnm)
