By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Who’s to blame?
This question swirled amid the claim of the China Coast Guard (CCG) that a “Philippine replenishment ship ignored many solemn warnings from the Chinese side” subsequently causing the collision of vessels of the Philippines and China in the waters adjacent to Ayungin Shoal on Monday (17 June 2024).
There was no comment from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and even from the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the incident as of this posting.
In a statement, the CCG said the Philippine ship “approached the… Chinese vessel in an unprofessional way, resulting in a collision.”
Using the Chinese name for the Spratly Islands, Beijing accused the Philippine vessel of having “illegally broken into the sea near Ren’ai Reef in China’s Nansha Islands”.
“The Chinese Coast Guard took control measures against the Philippine ship in accordance with the law,” the CCG further claimed.
(el Amigo/mnm)
