By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Trashing China’s insinuation that the United States and other allies may have a  “hidden agenda” on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said the country will continue to welcome countries that support its interests.

PCG spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela stressed that the Philippines will keep its vigilance against “bullies” and called out China for blaming the actions of the Philippines as well as the US for the rising tensions in the South China Sea.

“While it is true that there is no such thing as free lunch, unlike China, our allies do not take away our lunch especially if it is rightfully ours,” Tarriela said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He was reacting to an editorial article in the Chinese government-supported publication Global Times.

The article read, “The Philippines must remain vigilant against the ‘enthusiasm’ displayed by the US and some other countries. There is no such thing as a free lunch, and behind the US’ “enthusiasm” lies a hidden agenda.”

It can also be noted that recently, Chinese state media People’s Daily also published a commentary accusing the Philippines of infringing on China’s territory, spreading false information, and colluding with other countries to cause trouble.

“Until now, the [People’s Republic of China] has not come to terms with the fact that their fabricated narratives and baseless claims about the alleged aggressive actions of the Philippines are not that convincing,” Tarriela quipped.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also said the Philippines is not provoking conflict in the South China Sea.

“[The] Philippines is not provoking conflict. We follow international law and we are only implementing our domestic law,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar pointed out.

He further said the Philippines is not conducting activities that will put vessels and seafarers in danger and instead accused China of performing dangerous maneuvers that sometimes result in collisions at sea.

“They are the ones committing all the violations,” Aguilar retorted.

He noted that the Philippines was just conducting activities within its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

(IAmigo/MNM)