Marcos Condemns Attack on Filipino Sailor in South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemns the China Coast Guard's recent assault on a Filipino Navy sailor at Ayungin Shoal, brushing aside the other side's claim that Filipino personnel provoked a clash. Pressed on whether the Philippines' efforts at diplomacy with China is still working, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro ruled out meeting force with force even as the country would continue to defend its rights. "The president condemns incidents like these," Castro said in Filipino at a briefing Tuesday, July 21. "Hindi pinag-uusapan dito ang laki ng iyong teritoryo, ang lakas ng iyong pwersa, kundi pakikipaglaban sa katotohanan at kung ano ang iyong karapatan," Castro said. (This is not about the size of your territory or the strength of your forces, but the fight for the truth and for what is your right.) Castro declined to relay the president's exact words or describe his reaction, saying only that he condemned the incident and stood behind the statements released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense. On China's account of the clash, Castro said Filipino personnel had acted within their mandate and their rights. "Kung ano po ang kanilang naratibo, ganyan po ang kanilang maaaring sabihin. Hindi po natin 'to saklaw," she said. (Whatever their narrative is, that is what they can say. That is not for us to cover.) What happened at Ayungin? The China Coast Guard (CCG) incident occurred at around 9:15 a.m. on Monday, July 20, when a CCG vessel launched a rigid-hull inflatable boat that approached the BRP Sierra Madre at close range, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said. Two rubber boats from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) moved to drive it away, but a CCG personnel struck a Filipino Navy sailor on the head with a wooden baton. The DND called the attack part of a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior by China. The DFA said it was coordinating with the AFP on the details of the incident, and that any act of violence against Filipino personnel was unacceptable and would merit the appropriate diplomatic action. Beijing offered an opposite account of the incident. The China Coast Guard said Philippine personnel from BRP Sierra Madre aggressively harassed its small patrol boat and purportedly struck Chinese officers with oars, poles and other tools. China has repeatedly denied aggressive conduct during encounters in the South China Sea and has accused the Philippines of trespassing in its waters. Manila, in turn, points to the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing's sweeping claims in the resource-rich waters, a decision China rejects. In June 2024, Chinese personnel armed with knives, sticks and an axe attacked Filipino troops trying to resupply BRP Sierra Madre, an encounter in which a Filipino sailor lost a finger. The incident came as foreign ministers gathered in Manila for ASEAN meetings, and days after the DFA protested an AI-generated video by state-run China Daily that portrayed Filipinos as monkeys. Information source: Philstar Nation