MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos summoned Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan to Malacañang on Tuesday, a day after two Filipino soldiers were injured in a violent confrontation with China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
Palace press officer Claire Castro said the meeting “concerns national security, but we will give additional information once we are allowed to do so.”
The President, Castro said, condemns the latest assault of CCG on Philippine Navy personnel on Monday morning. The injured Navy personnel had been evacuated by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday from Ayungin despite what it said were blocking maneuvers by CCG vessels.
The meeting was the first time that Jing was summoned by Marcos himself since the former’s posting in Manila in December.
READ: AFP: China Coast Guard assaults Philippine Navy officer in Ayungin
Jing’s predecessor, Huang Xilian, had been summoned six times, five of which by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), since the start of the Marcos administration in 2022.
The only time Marcos had ordered Huang to go to Malacañang was on Feb. 14, 2023, to express his serious concern over the increasing frequency and intensity of actions by China against the PCG and Filipino fishermen.
That time, on Feb. 6, 2023, a CCG vessel directed a military-grade laser at the PCG’s BRP Malapascua near Ayungin Shoal.
READ: PCG evacuates 2 injured troops as AFP slams China’s ‘spliced’ video
‘Constructive’
Jing, in a press briefing at a hotel in Taguig City on Tuesday night, described his meeting with President Marcos as “constructive.”
Jing noted that both parties agreed to keep parts of the sudden meeting in Malacañang confidential as it was a “private discussion that few people attended.”
“But I would say this meeting was very constructive. It’s not a kind of diplomatic protest, [or] a demarche… pointing fingers to each other or, an exchange of very strong words against each other—no, I think it [was] an in-depth exchange of views,” Jing told reporters.
He noted that a “whole range of issues” was discussed involving the Philippines-China bilateral ties, and not just Monday’s confrontation at Ayungin.
“I think the President was also thinking [on]… how we can manage difficulties, how to manage solutions, so we compared notes on almost all of the important issues relating to our bilateral relations,” he said.
This, he added, includes explaining the “intention, position and true feelings” of one party to the other.
Castro said the President “does not want incidents like this to occur.”
“His policy has always been that we should respond to such incidents through diplomatic means. These developments between our country and China are simply unacceptable,” she added.
The DFA on Monday said it would file a diplomatic protest against China for what it called an “unacceptable” act of violence against Filipino personnel.
The Philippines’ move was in response to Beijing’s move to summon Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz, according to China’s foreign ministry. Jing confirmed that FlorCruz had been summoned to protest the incident.
“The Philippine side provoked the incident first, yet has turned around and made counter-accusations, distorted the facts and engaged in malicious hype,” China’s foreign ministry said.
In response, Malacañang said the Filipino troops were only carrying out their lawful duties consistent with Philippine and international laws.
“What we stand by are our lawful rights and the actions that our officials and Filipino personnel are duty-bound to take in those areas. We fully support what our Filipino officials are doing,” Castro said.
When asked whether the administration would consider changing its strategy on dealing with China after the incident, Castro said: “At this point, the President continues to study the situation. However, asserting our rights should not be pursued through violence.”
“This is not about the size of one’s territory or the strength of one’s military force. It is about standing up for the truth and defending what is rightfully ours,” she added.
Medical evacuation
The PCG said it deployed BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Malapascua on Monday for a medical evacuation of the injured Navy personnel.
The vessels arrived off Ayungin on Tuesday morning, and the Navy personnel were transferred to BRP Melchora Aquino later in the day, where they received treatment from a PCG medical officer.
The PCG said CCG rigid-hull inflatable boats carried out blocking maneuvers against the Philippine vessels during the humanitarian mission, but the evacuation was completed successfully.
One serviceman suffered a gash to the head and bruises on the arm while another had a cut to an index finger that weakened his grip. Both were reported to be in stable condition.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said CCG personnel attacked Philippine Navy troops with wooden batons during a routine rotation and resupply mission to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre.
The rusting but still in active service vessel of the Philippine Navy was deliberately grounded in 1999 to help secure the country’s assertion of sovereignty over the area of Ayungin—which is some 315 kilometers west of Palawan province in the West Philippine Sea, and within the country’s 370-km exclusive economic zone.
The military later released videos of the confrontation, while Beijing denied the allegations and blamed Philippine personnel for provoking the incident.
Despite the latest confrontation in Ayungin, Jing said that the ongoing negotiations between the parties over the South China Sea dispute remains on track.
“We hope to finish negotiations by the end of this year. After several rounds of negotiations, the two sides—China and the Philippines—are actually meeting each other halfway,” Jing said. /cb
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