'DEPLORABLE' ACT. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza (center) says the Chinese ambassador has been summoned on Monday (Oct. 23, 2023) morning after the “illegal, dangerous, provocative and deplorable” actions of the Chinese Coast Guard near Ayungin Shoal on Oct. 22. In a press briefing at the National Security Council office in Quezon City, Daza said such incidents bolster the case that China is the aggressor for undertaking dangerous maneuvers and blockades. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned the Chinese ambassador on Monday morning after the “illegal, dangerous, provocative and deplorable” actions of the Chinese Coast Guard near Ayungin Shoal on Oct. 22.
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian was apparently out of town and was instead represented by his deputy chief of mission (DCM).
DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said the matter was “urgent and of importance” that the department decided to meet the DCM and convey the Philippine position on Ayungin Shoal.
“Ayungin Shoal is part of our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and we have sovereign rights and jurisdiction over it, therefore as we did in the past we intend to clearly convey our position that we have every right under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) to carry out our legitimate activities in our maritime zones and that we do not accept any form of interference,” she said in a press conference on Monday.
Daza said the embassy DCM met with DFA Assistant Secretary Aileen Mendiola-Rau but did not provide further details about the meeting.
Since the start of the Marcos administration, the Philippines has filed a total of 122 diplomatic protests against China’s incursions into the West Philippine Sea, out of the 465 lodged since January 2020.
'Aggressor’
Meanwhile, Daza said the filing of a possible second case on the West Philippine Sea as a whole is still under study when asked whether the incident would affect the plan.
“The matter about filing another case is something that is still being studied by the government,” she said.
“But, of course, all incidents like these will actually bolster the case that it is not the Philippines that’s the aggressor but the other party which is China that’s actually undertaking dangerous maneuvers and blockades."
READ: US reaffirms MDT commitment after fresh Chinese harassment in Ayungin
Daza said the incident would also show the world that China’s actions have put at risk not only vessels but also the Filipino people manning them.
She added that further study was needed to determine whether the incident would constitute an armed attack that would trigger the United States-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
"It’s a provocation on the side of China but at this point, whether it will constitute an armed attack that would allow the invoking of MDT is something that needs to be studied," she said. (PNA)
