Chinese envoy: Filipinos were doing construction work on ship, violated agreement

Filipinos were doing construction work on the BRP Sierra Madre, and the Chinese Coast Guard went to check before the confrontation between the two sides happened in the Ayungin Shoal, Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan has said.

According to Marisol Abdurahman's report on "24 Oras," the Philippine side sent boats to "challenge us."

The Chinese ambassador said this after members of the Chinese Coast Guard were caught on video hitting Filipino soldiers with clubs in the waters.

The BRP Sierra Madre is a ship that was deliberately grounded to act as a permanent military outpost for the Philippines in the disputed waters.

“Yesterday morning, like 9:00 AM, so our people found your, your soldiers…they're, they're building some kind of barrier nets, and they're, you know, doing some kind of construction work on the ship. So we sent two boats to check what happened,” Quan said.

“That's against the spirit of our provisional agreement. That is no new construction; keep the status quo. Okay, okay, we agree to the resupply, you know, agreements. But, you know, we found, oh, they're doing something new,” the envoy added.

Despite this statement from the Chinese envoy, newly installed AFP Chief Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete said that the Philippine personnel were in the right.

“That was ours, that was our military post,” Nafarrete said in Filipino.

This latest confrontation has reignited tensions between Manila and Beijing, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoning Quan to explain the incident. While the Palace has yet to disclose details of the meeting, Quan called the discussion constructive.

Malacañang said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. condemned the alleged assault by the China Coast Guard on Filipino troops deployed to the BRP Sierra Madre in the West Philippine Sea.

The Palace expressed the Marcos administration's support for the critical statements of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of National Defense (DND), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was able to medically evacuate the two soldiers who were injured in the encounter with the CCG.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela said that the two AFP personnel experienced trauma because of the event, with one of them having a laceration on his head measuring at least seven centimeters. –Jean Mangalum/NB, GMA News