The side of the Scarborough Shoal as seen using a drone. Mother boats are anchored at the deeper part of the shoal while small boats can go across the coral reefs to catch fish inside. (PHOTO BY REM ZAMORA)
Published March 6, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — China cannot remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal and do reclamation in Panatag (Scarborough Shoal) as the Philippine government considers this a “red line” that Beijing should not cross, according to Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.
“Ayungin Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc (BDM) have been declared red lines. No building or reclamation on BDM, no removal of LS57 (BRP Sierra Madre) on Ayungin Shoal,” Trinidad said in a press briefing in Manila on Wednesday.
Trinidad made this statement amid the latest water cannon assault of China Coast Guard (CCG) in Ayungin Shoal which injured four Navy personnel, a move considered by the Philippines to be a serious escalation.
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SOURCE: www.globalnation.inquirer.net
RELATED: US reaffirms: MDT covers ‘armed attacks’ on PH Coast Guard in South China Sea
Published March 6, 2024
The US confirms that communications with the Philippines exist, but declines to answer speculation on how the Mutual Defense Treaty could be invoked
MELBOURNE, Australia – The United States on Wednesday, March 6 (late Tuesday, March 5 in Washington DC), affirmed that attacks on the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are covered by the decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty that binds Washington and Manila.
“The United States stands with our ally the Philippines following the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) provocative actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea on March 5,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“The United States reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – including those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea,” he added.
