DFA issues protest on China’s expulsion of PH ships

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The expulsion by Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) of two Filipino civilian vessels in Ayungin Shoal constitutes a “clear and urgent threat to the rights and interests of the Philippines,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

The two Philippines ships were civilian contractors of the Philippine Navy and were only conducting resupply and troop rotation operations at the BRP Sierra Madre outpost on Ayungin shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, where marines are defending the shoal.

This was the first time in 15 years that China has interfered with the Navy’s operation on the shoal, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters in a press conference.

The DFA has submitted a protest to the Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy Tuesday but the protest was immediately rejected, Hernandez said.