GOVPH

READ: STATEMENT ON THE 5 AUGUST 2023 INCIDENT ON THE AYUNGIN SHOAL

08 August 2023 - China Coast Guard (CCG), People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and Chinese maritime militia vessels took blocking and other aggressive maneuvers, including the use of a water cannon, against Philippine supply boats and coast guard vessels on a routine rotation and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre today, August 5, in an area approximately 2.9NM from Ayungin Shoal.

The Philippines demands that China immediately stop its illegal activities in our maritime zones.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is one with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard in their pursuit of our shared mandate to protect and uphold our legal maritime entitlements.  The DFA is making full use of our diplomatic processes and are exercising all possible actions available to us, including the summoning of the Chinese Ambassador over this incident.

The rotation and resupply mission to and the upkeep of the BRP Sierra Madre are legitimate Philippine Government activities in our country’s exclusive economic zone, which are all in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS.

As a low tide elevation, Ayungin Shoal can neither be the subject of a sovereignty claim nor is it capable of appropriation under international law – a fact affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral Award. China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it.

China’s illegal exercise of maritime law enforcement powers; interference with a legitimate Philippine rotation and resupply mission, including its aggressive use of a water cannon against our vessels; and any other activity that infringes upon our sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Ayungin Shoal are violations of international law. END