MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan on Monday condemned what it described as a “barbaric” and deliberate attack by the China Coast Guard (CCG) on Philippine Navy personnel in Ayungin Shoal.
Akbayan President Rafaela David said the attack was “savage, uncivilized, and utterly indefensible,” calling it a “deliberate and violent assault by agents of the Chinese state against Filipino servicemen carrying out a lawful mission within Philippine waters.”
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the attack injured a Filipino serviceman, who was struck on the head with a wooden baton. A Philippine Navy rubber boat was also damaged during the confrontation in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal.
According to the AFP, a China Coast Guard rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight personnel from vessel CCGV 21560 illegally approached BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine outpost in the West Philippine Sea, at close range.
READ: AFP: China Coast Guard assaults Philippine Navy officer in Ayungin
“China has gone beyond water cannons and dangerous maneuvers. It is now openly clubbing Filipinos with weapons,” David said. “Every blow struck against our sailors is an attack on Philippine sovereignty, our national dignity, and the rules that civilized nations are expected to uphold.”
David, who is also a co-convenor of the Atin Ito Coalition, said the Philippine government should respond strongly by expelling the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines and imposing a travel ban on China’s defense minister in response to Beijing’s travel ban on Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and his family.
“The world must recognize that this is an escalating pattern of state-sponsored violence aimed at intimidating the Philippines into surrendering its lawful rights in the West Philippine Sea. We must ensure that every act of aggression carries consequences,” she said.
READ: DND condemns latest CCG attack that injured PH Navy personnel
“We stand firmly behind our brave sailors, coast guard personnel, and fisherfolk who continue to defend our seas despite relentless harassment and violence,” she added.
As David pointed out, China may wield batons and bigger ships, “but it will never extinguish the resolve of the Filipino people to defend what is rightfully ours,” stressing that “the West Philippine Sea is ours, and no amount of intimidation will change that.” /mcm
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