Marcos summons Chinese ambassador over Ayungin Shoal, national security concerns

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan over concerns of “national security” following renewed tensions in Ayungin Shoal.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said that Marcos met Quan on Tuesday after personnel from the Philippine Navy were injured in an encounter with the Chinese Coast Guard in the disputed waters.

“It concerns national security, but we will give additional information once we are allowed to do so,” Castro said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) accused the China Coast Guard on Monday of clubbing a Filipino sailor with a baton as they approached a grounded vessel that has long served as a Philippine garrison in the West Philippine Sea.

News of the incident on Monday came just hours after the Department of Foreign Affairs said the two countries' top diplomats would meet at a regional summit in Manila this week.

The Philippines said in a statement a Chinese rigid-hull inflatable boat carrying eight men had circled and taken photos and video of the BRP Sierra Madre, which sits on the flashpoint Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the Spratly archipelago.

China claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, and has frequently clashed with Philippine vessels in the area.

The latest clash in the crucial waterway took place after two rubber boats were sent to drive them away, the statement said.

"The [Chinese Coast Guard] personnel reacted violently and aggressively by striking a Philippine Navy personnel on the head with a wooden baton, causing injury and damaging the Navy rubber boat," the statement said.

The AFP said it exercised professionalism and acted according to laws, and called on the People's Liberation Army and China Coast Guard to stop their "illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions" in the West Philippine Sea.

"These latest aggressive actions and assault by the CCGV demonstrate a blatant disregard for safety, endanger the lives of our personnel, and escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea," the AFP said.

"The AFP remains steadfast in protecting the country's sovereign rights and jurisdiction. Our lawful presence and sustainment operations in Ayungin Shoal will continue," it added. "No act of coercion or aggression will deter us from carrying out our constitutional mandate or exercising the Philippines' lawful rights in the West Philippine Sea."

The Department of National Defense said in a separate statement the encounter added "to a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior" by the Chinese coast guard.

"The latest act of violence and harassment committed by the China Coast Guard against Philippine Navy personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal adds to a clear pattern of provocative and hostile behavior, and further contributes to the People’s Republic of China’s deficit of trust and credibility," it said.

[The Palace initially said that the meeting between the president and the Chinese envoy was already arranged prior to the incident in Ayungin Shoal, but later said that Quan was also summoned over the incident.

Chinese actions condemned

Marcos earlier expressed condemnation over the incident.

“Kinukondena po niya, kinukondena po ng Pangulo ang mga ganitong klaseng pangyayari," Castro said.

(He condemns it, the President condemns these kinds of acts.)

The Department of National Defense (DND) slammed the incident, calling it “violence and harassment” by the CCG.

“We simply cannot trust this belligerent neighbor," DND spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arsenio Andolong said.

Beijing denied responsibility over the latest confrontation in the disputed region, as it placed the blame entirely on Manila’s end.

The President’s meeting with Quan also comes after state-owned media China Daily’s controversial depiction of Filipinos as a monkey being controlled by Japan and the United States.

The artificial intelligence-created caricature has earned condemnation from various officials, calling tcartoon racist and dehumanizing. –with reports from Giselle Ombay/NB/RF, GMA News