HOLE IN THE DECK. The hole in the deck of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Bagacay caused by dangerous maneuvers of China Coast Guard (CCG) ships that resulted in a collision on Monday (Aug. 19, 2024). Another PCG ship, the BRP Cape Engaño, was also damaged in another incident that occured just minutes after the first collision. (Photo courtesy of PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela)
MANILA – China's increasing aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is not expected to result in a full-blown conflict, a Philippine Navy (PN) official said Tuesday.
"First and foremost, all of the actions of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and the maritime militia will be below the threshold of conflict, it will not reach the point that they will initiate escalation to the point of conflict," Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
He made this comment when asked if Beijing's latest act of harassment in Escoda Shoal, where two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships were damaged, could have been an offshoot of its aggression being moved or transferred out of Ayungin Shoal due to the ongoing Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) between China and the Philippines.
These ships were tasked to conduct resupply missions to troops on Patag and Lawak Islands when harassed by the CCG.
"We should focus on the bigger picture of the vast expanse of the South China Sea, a portion of which is the WPS. Again, the presence of the agents of aggression of the Chinese Communist Party is causing all of the dynamics, all of the aggressive maneuvers in the WPS. This may shift from Ayungin Shoal to the eight other features to Bajo de Masinloc," Trinidad said.
He said these "dynamics" of the Chinese Communist Party include the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force's act of dropping flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force plane conducting maritime patrol in the Bajo de Masinloc on Aug. 8.
Despite this, the naval official said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), along with the PCG, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, will continue to work in ensuring the integrity of Philippine territory.
"We will not let down or back down from performing our mandate of showing the flag, of resupplying the troops, of rotating the men," he said.
Trinidad added that Manila's actions in the WPS will be guided by the rules of engagement and international law.
Pray for peace
A former head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday urged the faithful to continue to pray for peace amid escalating tensions in the WPS.
"Pray without ceasing. Pray everyday. We know there will be peace. We will be protected from war. We will be protected from conflict and violence by the power of prayer," Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a social media post at the conclusion of the 50-day Rosary Campaign.
The archdiocese's Rosary Campaign started on June 27 and ended on Aug. 15.
"Thank you for praying. And please, please, please don't stop praying. Don't stop believing," Villegas said. (with Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
