Rappler
DFA’s Manalo asks Chinese experts: Why so many Coast Guard ships in Ayungin?
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo questioned the substantial presence of Chinese vessels in Ayungin Shoal at the Munich Security Conference.
Manalo clarified that the Philippines never promised to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from the shoal.
He highlighted the inconsistency of China's claims, given the shoal's distance from China, yet its significant military presence there.
China asserts territorial rights over Ayungin Shoal and has demanded the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II vessel serving as a military outpost.
Tensions have escalated recently with increased confrontations between Philippine and Chinese maritime forces in the South China Sea.
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See how different news organizations are covering this story. Below are the original articles from various Philippine news sources that contributed to this summary.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel BRP Cabra successfully pushed back a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel, identified as CCG-5303, farther away from the Zambales coastline on Saturday.
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The China Coast Guard (CCG)'s 165-meter "monster ship," CCG 5901, has been detected moving away from the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
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The Philippine Navy confirmed that the Chinese research vessel Lan Hai 101 complied with protocols while traversing archipelagic waters in the Sulu Sea, en route from Malaysia to China.
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Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo asserted at the 61st Munich Security Conference in Germany that the Philippines is exercising its rights within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
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A Chinese Navy helicopter flew dangerously close, within three meters, to a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft over Bajo de Masinloc on February 18, an incident the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) described as highly provocative.
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