By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – Measures will be put in place to address the latest Chinese ramming incident that targeted a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel off Palawan last Sept. 18, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Monday.
“Definitely. This definitely needs to be addressed and we’ll be talking with the National Security Advisor and the National Maritime Council. Kasi unarmed vessel ito (This is an unarmed vessel), BFAR vessel, (and this has) no rhyme, no reason,” he said in an interview.
A vessel of the China Coast Guard (CCG) hit the BFAR ship, the BRP Datu Magat Salamat (MMOV-3015), Friday last week while the latter was carrying out a fuel subsidy mission for Filipino fisherfolk off Hasa-Hasa Shoal, West Philippine Sea.
“It’s not merely a violation of maritime rules and regulations, but a criminal act by the CCG. So, we will be addressing that. I’m not going to talk about specifics now, but definitely our personnel are already developing options for addressing this,” Teodoro said.
He said the Chinese action needs to be addressed as soon as possible since the incident took place in Philippine territory.
He added that if any of the BFAR personnel manning the ship were injured in the incident, that action by the CCG can also be considered as a criminal act.
Teodoro said Filipinos reportedly claiming that the CCG is right in ramming the BFAR ship are guilty of treason.
“(That is) not acceptable, at katrayduran na sa Republika ng Pilipinas yun (that is treachery against the Republic of the Philippines), plain and simple,” he said.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) earlier condemned the incident, noting that is a serious breach of the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the 2016 Arbitral Award. (PNA)
