Pinalagan ni Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Spokesperson Ma. Teresita C. Daza ang pahayag ng Chinese Foreign Ministry na dapat alisin ng Pilipinas ang barkong BRP Sierra Madre na nakapuwesto sa Ayungin Shoal.
“Ayungin Shoal, as explicitly stated in the Award of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration is a low-tide elevation that is not subject to sovereignty claims or appropriation. It is part of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines over which the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” pahayag ni Daza sa social media.
Una nang binatikos ng ambassador ng China sa Pilipinas na si Huang Xilian ang mga umano’y “unilateral actions” ng Pilipinas sa Ayungin Shoal.
Matatandaang ipinatawag ng DFA si Huang hinggil sa insidente ng pambobomba ng tubig ng Chinese Coast Guard sa supply vessels ng Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) na maghahatid ng pagkain at iba pang gamit sa mga sundalo sa BRP Sierra Madre noong Agosto 5.
Binigyang diin din ni Daza na kaya ipinosisyon ang BRP Sierra Madre sa Ayungin Shoal noong 1999 ay dahil sa ilegal na pag-okupa ng Chinese vessels sa Panganiban Reef noong 1995. Ang dalawang lugar ay kapwa pasok sa 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) ng Pilipinas base sa umiiral na United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“The deployment of a Philippine military station in its own area of jurisdiction is an inherent right of the Philippines and does not violate any laws. Moreover, the Philippine station in Ayungin Shoal was deployed in 1999, years ahead before the conclusion in 2022 of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and is therefore not a violation of the DOC,” anang tagapagsalita ng DFA.
“The 2016 Arbitral Award is based in UNCLOS and affirms UNCLOS. It is final, legal and binding. China as a state party to UNCLOS is well aware of that and we call China to faithfully adhere to its obligations and commitments as a state party to UNCLOS,” paliwanag pa ni Daza.