DFA: PH not responsible for China ships’ collision in Scarborough

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

“The Philippines bears no responsibility for the collision between the PLAN vessel and the CCG vessel in Bajo de Masinloc. It was an unfortunate outcome, but not one caused by our actions,” DFA Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said in a statement sent through Malacañang. (PNA file photo)

MANILA – The Philippine government has no responsibility over the collision of two Chinese vessels in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

The China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 3104 collided with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship 164 while chasing the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Suluan at high speed on Aug. 11.

“The Philippines bears no responsibility for the collision between the PLAN vessel and the CCG vessel in Bajo de Masinloc. It was an unfortunate outcome, but not one caused by our actions,” DFA Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said in a statement sent through Malacañang.

The BRP Suluan was accompanying a Filipino mission to distribute supplies to local fisherfolk near Bajo de Masinloc when the CCG ship performed a risky maneuver, leading to the collision with the PLA Navy warship.

The PCG said this resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel’s forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy.

Yang Xiao, a maritime expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, earlier said the Philippines should bear “all losses,” claiming the Filipino vessel “provoked and caused the incident at sea.”

Yang, quoted as saying by the Chinese paper Global Times in an Aug. 13 article, said “China has every reason and the full right to take all necessary countermeasures, including demands for compensation.”

DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said no demand for compensation has been lodged by the Chinese government related to the incident.

Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, is a long-standing and integral part of Philippine territory.

The Stratbase ADR Institute earlier called the latest incident a “stark reminder of the urgent need to uphold international law and defend the rules-based order against those who deliberately and repeatedly violate it.”

Stratbase ADR Institute president Victor Andres Manhit said these actions reflected China’s disregard for binding legal instruments, such as the 2016 Arbitral Award, an act he described as a “direct affront to the international system and undermines the very principles that ensure peace, stability, and safety at sea.”

‘Spreading lies’ 

Meanwhile, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros accused China of spreading lies to conceal a collision between two of its own vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“Beijing is actively censoring the truth… Kahiya-hiya kasi ang nangyaring banggaan ng mga barko nila, kaya kung ano-anong propaganda na lang ang pinapakalat (They are ashamed of the collision of their vessels, so they are spreading propaganda),” she said in a statement.

Hontiveros said Chinese state media ignored the incident while Beijing’s allies accused the Philippines of provocation.

She urged China to pay nearly PHP20 billion in damages for environmental destruction, a proposal she will refile in the 20th Congress. (With Wilnard Bacelonia/PNA)