From the Newsrooms: Continued high tension from WPS water cannon incident

A rundown of key events and issues covered by newsrooms from August 7 to 13, 2023

THE IMPACT OF the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG)’s attack against a Philippine vessel continued to draw coverage from Philippine media. On August 5, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said that the CCG used a water cannon on a resupply mission of the AFP Western Command to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. Mostly covering the views of the government, news accounts also included uniformed personnel, lawmakers and concerned sectors such as fisher groups and security experts– all uniformly expressing alarm over the escalation of China’s harassment in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). 

In an August 7 interview with One News’ The Big Story, Col. Medel Aguilar, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the attack was “premeditated,” as the CCG was positioned in advance to block the resupply mission and carry out “dangerous maneuvers.” Aguilar said that this time, the Chinese vessel had moved closer to Palawan, less than 100 nautical miles from the coast of Puerto Princesa City. Typically, CCG activities shadowed PH ships when they reach Sabina Shoal, 130 nautical miles away from Palawan.

Ma. Teresita Daza, Foreign Affairs spokesperson, provided more proof of China’s malicious intent. In a press briefing on August 7, she said the DFA could not reach its counterpart through the direct communication hotline established to address maritime concerns.

China has maintained its position of legality, as Beijing has always claimed the area as Chinese territory, a matter that had already been denied and rejected by the international community including the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Its statements asserted that the Philippines was the offending party. In a statement issued evening of August 7, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the water cannon incident happened because Philippines has not kept its promise of towing away BRP Sierra Madre, which media noted has been grounded in Ayungin Shoal since 1999 as a military outpost. 

The National Security Council was quick to deny such an agreement and challenged China to provide proof. President Marcos agreed, adding that if there were indeed a deal, then he rescinds it. CNN Philippines tried to ask Chinese diplomats for the proof; and the response was there was no since Marcos has already rescinded the agreement, and instead referred to a position paper that claimed the Philippines has assured removal of BRP Sierra Madre since 1999.

On the ground, the AFP Western Command told the press on August 11 that another resupply mission was scheduled in two weeks’ time. Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said they are considering other ways of delivering supplies to troops in BRP Sierra Madre.

Some media, including TV5 and GMA-7 checked with the Navy personnel who were aboard the delivery vessels during the water cannon ordeal. They attested to the CCG deliberately targeting the bridge and smokestack of the ships. Lt. Ramsey Gutierrez told Palawan News that these would have capsized if not for the skillful piloting of their captains who maneuvered to avoid more serious damage.

AFP Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner told the media that the military is considering sending militia to augment patrols in the WPS, drawn from the reservist force and possibly fisherfolk. But as cited by different news outfits, the association of fishers in Pag-Asa Island in Palawan were aware of the swarm of Chinese vessels in the area and were not warm to the idea. They did assure that they would readily cooperate with reporting incidents.

Security experts decried China’s “gaslighting” the Philippines—offering to discuss ways to ease tension in the WPS and conduct joint maritime patrols. Chester Cabalza, president of Manila-based thinktank International Development and Security Cooperation said in CNN Philippines’ The Final Word that China’s actions reflect a “duplicitous” messaging. Anchor Rico Hizon correctly recalled that Marcos was cool to raising China’s aggression before the United Nations Security Council. Cabalza responded that the responsibility to balance the country’s existing agreements with China and bring its hostility to greater international attention falls on the president.

Developments in the WPS are of concern to the greater Southeast Asian region, where some countries are similarly confronted with China’s aggressive territoriality. Filipino journalists have come closer to the edge of confrontation and their reports will help raise the need for ASEAN to stand in solidarity to assert national rights of members while avoiding armed conflict at any level.

Newsrooms also covered the following stories this week: 

• Seventeen-year-old Jemboy Baltazar of Navotas City was fatally shot by police in a hot pursuit operation on August 2, only for authorities to realize that he was not the suspect in a shooting that they were looking for. Navotas police has already relieved from their posts and detained the six officers involved in the shooting on homicide complaints.
  
  Dr. Raquel Fortun, the country’s leading forensic pathologist, performed the autopsy on Baltazar and noted that the gunshot wound to the victim’s head was not immediately fatal; that he would have survived had the police promptly retrieved his body from the river where he fell. Instead, the youth drowned, his body surfacing three hours after the shooting.
  
  
• During a typhoon situation briefing in Bulacan last August 7, Marcos suspended all but one of 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay, saying these were “problematic” and needed review. On August 10, Environment Secretary Antonia Loyzaga- Yulo clarified in a Palace briefing that all projects have been suspended.
  
  
• The Department of Education launched a new K+10 curriculum last August 10, with focus on five core foundational subjects: Language, Reading and literacy Mathematics, Makabansa (nationalism) and Good manners and right conduct (GMRC). “Mother tongue” will no longer be taught as a separate subject, while “peace competencies” are incorporated in the curriculum. The new curriculum will be introduced in phases in the next school year.