‘Gibo’ tells China: Be truthful and believable in your story

DEPARTMENT of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” C. Teodoro Jr. said Wednesday that any “right thinking state” would not believe China’s claims that its actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) are legal and professional.

Teodoro, in a statement, made this comment after noting the “propaganda mechanisms of the PRC’S [People’s Republic of China] to once again attempt to justify their illegal acts against Philippine vessels over their socalled ‘indisputable’ claim over most of the South China Sea.”

This was after China Coast Guard (CCG) and its maritime militia on March 5 harassed and impeded Philippine rotation and reprovisioning efforts for the contingent aboard the BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) in Ayungin Shoal last March 5.

In this incident, two Filipino vessels were damaged and four crew members were injured, even as one resupply ship managed to reach BRP Sierra Madre to deliver its cargo.

“They take great pains to mischaracterize their provocations as lawful under international law and the actions of their CCG and maritime militia as ‘professional, restrained, reasonable, and lawful,’” the DND chief added.

“This claim is, simply put, one that no right-thinking state in the world agrees with and which many outright condemn. The PRC’S vain attempt to manufacture and sell this story falters in the face of real incontrovertible facts,” he noted.

Teodoro also said the actions of PRC agents in the WPS are patently illegal and downright uncivilized.

And to this end, the DND chief urged China to be “truthful and to be believable.”

RORE missions to continue

BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57), the sentinel ship standing watch and maintaining Philippine sovereignty in Ayungin Shoal, will be sustained despite increasing incidents of Chinese harassment in WPS.

In radio broadcast interview Thursday, Western Command (WESCOM) chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said the BRP Sierra Madre will definitely stay in Ayungin Shoal and the contingent manning it will be supplied.

“In response to the President’s orders [to stand firm in defending the country’s sovereignty in the WPS], we will ensure that the rotation and reprovisioning [RORE] missions for BRP Sierra Madre will continue,” he stressed in Filipino.

Carlos also emphasized that patrols and activities demonstrating Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the WPS will also continue.

He also said WESCOM remains undeterred by these challenges.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) earlier announced that it had conducted 28 RORE missions for its detachments in the WPS in 2023.

It added that 14 of these missions are for the BRP Sierra Madre, which is located in Ayungin Shoal.

Of the 14 missions for Ayungin Shoal, three encountered illegal actions or harassments or water cannon blasts by the CCG and maritime militia.

These harassments took place in August, November and December RORE to Ayungin Shoal.