AFP considering other ways to resupply troops in Ayungin Shoal
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is considering other ways of resupplying troops on a grounded military ship at the Ayungin Shoal after Chinese vessels rammed into Philippine vessels during their last resupply mission, its spokesperson said Tuesday.
In a “Bagong Pilipinas” briefing, AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said they were considering other ways of resupplying and deploying additional troops to ensure that the mission would be “successful”.
“We are considering all those things because what we want to accomplish actually is a successful RoRe (rotation and resupply) mission without interference from any party at all. So we are considering everything even other modes of resupply, we can consider that also,” Aguilar said.
Aguilar criticized China for the maneuvers that caused their Coast Guard and militia vessels to collide with the country’s vessels.
“What China did was a very dangerous maneuver because they did it at sea which is unlike the streets on the land where you can hit the brakes and change your direction. So what they did is that they forced our vessel to a collision which actually happened and therefore, that put the lives of many of our people in danger,” he said.
“We are also looking at the possibility that because our boat was small and was made of indigenous materials like wood, the possibility of this being destroyed against their metal vessel is very imminent. That’s why our country reacted like this because what China did was wrong,” Aguilar said.
During the incident, there were around five China Coast Guard vessels, 16 maritime militia vessels, and two PLA Navy vessels, he added.
Aguilar said they will continue having patrols in the West Philippine Sea because “this is a way of showing to the world that we are asserting sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and that we will never give up the right of our people to enjoy from the benefits from whatever resources that we can get from our exclusive economic zone”.
The National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) on Sunday said that a Chinese Coast Guard vessel conducted “dangerous blocking maneuvers” causing it to collide with indigenous resupply boat Unaiza May 2 (UM2) and that Chinese Maritime Militia vessel 00003 “bumped” into PCG vessel BRP Cabra.
The other indigenous supply boat, Unaiza May 1, was able to deliver supplies to the grounded ship. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
