Embassy denies ‘tension’ over rocket debris

THE Chinese Embassy in Manila has described as “inconsistent with facts” the reported tension between the Philippine Navy and the China Coast Guard (CCG) over the retrieval of a rocket debris.

The embassy on Tuesday, November 22, shared the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the incident that dispelled the reported stand-off between the two naval forces off Pag-asa Island in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

“Relevant reports are inconsistent with facts. Here’s what happened, according to the [spokesman for] the Chinese Foreign Ministry,” the embassy said in a statement.

Around 8 a.m. on November 20, a CCG ship “found an unidentified floating object in the waters off the Nansha Islands, which was later identified as the wreckage [from] the firing of a rocket recently launched by China.”

Before the CCG found the floating object, some Philippine Navy personnel “already retrieved and towed it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said.

“After friendly consultation, the Philippine side returned the floating object to the Chinese side on the spot. The Chinese side expressed gratitude to the Philippine side,” Mao added.

“There was no so-called blocking of the course of a Philippine Navy boat and forcefully retrieving the object at the scene,” he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said it is not against the United States’ interaction with regional countries in wake of the visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to the Philippines.

“But it should be good for regional peace and stability and not damaging to other countries’ interests,” Mao said.

The Philippine government will send a note verbale to China in connection with the Pag-asa Island incident, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday.

“Yes, I think that’s what we need to do,” the President said in a chance interview at the sidelines of the 49th founding anniversary celebration of the Career Executive Service Board in Pasay City.

National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos had recommended the filing of the note verbale.

Carlos expressed hope though that Beijing will understand the supreme national interest of the

Philippines when protecting its territory and people.

Also as of Tuesday, she said, there had been no reports of additional military activities within the artificial islands built by China around the West Philippine Sea.

According to Marcos, the note verbale aims to resolve conflicting incident reports of authorities from both countries.

“When it was first reported to me by the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] chief of staff, I asked him to immediately call [the Philippine] military attaché in the Chinese Embassy and to get a report,” he said.

It was not the first time that pieces of “metallic” debris was found in the Philippines.

Last October, such debris was found floating off the waters of Palawan and Occidental Mindoro believed to have come from a Long March 5B rocket that China had launched.

Pag-asa Island is the secondManila largest of the Spratly Islands and the largest of the Philippine-administered areas located about 480 kilometers west of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, close to the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Last week, at his participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand, Marcos renewed his call for a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea to be drawn up “as soon as possible.”

He said member economies had a consensus on the urgency of the COC as this is meant for the “full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.”

The President also appealed to all claimants to contested territories to make the South China Sea an area of peace and stability, not of armed conflict or political discord, reminding them that they have “a moral and legal obligation to work toward finding resolutions and not resort to inciting conflicts.”