UMANI ng pagkondena sa iba’t ibang diplomatic mission sa Pilipinas ang panibagong pagtatangka ng China sa harangin ang rotation and resupply mission ng Philippine Navy sa BRP Sierra Madre sa dagat malapit sa Ayungin Shoal na nasa loob ng Exclusive Economic Zone ng Pilipinas na nagresulta sa banggaan sa West Philippine Sea.

Sa ulat na ipinarating ng National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, bandang alas-6:04 kahapon ng umaga ay nabangga ng isang Chinese militia vessel ang isang inarkilang bangka ng Philippine Navy.

“At around 0604H this morning, while conducting a regular and routine Rotation and Resupply (RORE) mission to BRP SIERRA MADRE (LS57), dangerous blocking maneuvers of China Coast Guard vessel 5203 (CCGV 5203) caused it to collide with the Armed Forces of the Philippines-contracted indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2 (UM2) approximately 13.5 nautical miles (NM) East Northeast of LS57. The provocative, irresponsible, and illegal action of CCGV 5203 imperiled the safety of the crew of UM2,” ayon sa official report.

Sa nasabing RORE mission, binangga ng Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 (CMMV 00003) ang portside ng Philippine Coast Guard vessel MRRV 4409 sa bahaging 6.4Nautical Miles ng Ayungin Shoal.

Sinasabing matagumpay namang narating ng isa pang AFP chartered ship ang Unaiza May 1 (UM1) ang BRP SIERRA MADRE at naibaba ang supply para sa mga sundalong nakatalaga sa nasabing barko ng Philippine Navy.

Mariing kinondena ang National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) ang pinakahuling mapanganib at iresponsableng pagkilos ng Chinese Coast Guard at Chinese Maritime Militia na tahasang paglabag sa soberanya at jurisdiction ng Pilipinas, at hindi pagkilala sa United Nations Charter, ang United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) at relevant international maritime conventions, and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Agad na pahayag ni US Ambassador to the Philippine MaryKay Carson sa pamamagitan ng X na dating Tweeter, “The United States condemns PRC’s latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk. We stand with our #FriendsPartnersAllies in protecting 🇵🇭 sovereignty and in support of a #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific.”

Maging ang Canadian Embassy ay kinondena ang “unlawful and dangerous conduct” ng Chinese vessels, na hindi umano justified.

Lubha ring halata at kaduda-duda umano ang mabilis na pagpapalabas ng pahayag ng Chinese Coast Guard hinggil sa pangyayari na tila umano nais maghugas-kamay at iligaw ang katotohanan.

(JESSE KABEL RUIZ)