China's aggression in Ayungin Shoal not an armed attack but deliberate

Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro stated that the Chinese harassment of a June 17 resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal was not a misunderstanding or accident, but a deliberate and illegal use of force intended to prevent the Philippines from completing its mission.

During the incident, China Coast Guard personnel towed a Philippine ship, destroyed equipment, and seized disassembled firearms, resulting in one Filipino soldier losing his right thumb.

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, however, clarified that China's actions do not constitute an armed attack by international definition, as it did not involve the use of military force triggering collective self-defense under the UN Charter or the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.

Despite not classifying it as an armed attack, Año acknowledged that the PRC violates numerous international and domestic laws.

The National Security Council previously suggested China's objective was to disrupt the Philippine mission through aggression.

The Philippines intends to continue its rotation and resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal.