Philippines-China relations

Philippines sends note verbale to China after debris seizure in West PH Sea

Sofia Tomacruz

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Philippines sends note verbale to China after debris seizure in West PH Sea

TOP DIPLOMAT. Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo meets with the media at the Rizal Park Hotel in Manila on August 16, 2022.

Photo by Angie de Silva/Rappler

The Marcos government says it wants clarification from China on the incident

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines sent a note verbale to China seeking “clarification” on a recent incident where Chinese coast guard personnel “forcibly retrieved” floating debris from members of the Philippine Navy in the West Philippine Sea. 

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo announced the development in an interview with CNN Philippines on Thursday, November 24, saying that the Marcos administration wants to hear about the confrontation “from the side of China.”

The top diplomat did not discount the possibility of further action, including face-to-face meetings on the matter. 

“We’ll have to take it step by step but depending on the reply, if we find the reply lacking or we need further clarification, we will continue the discussion perhaps through notes verbale or if necessary, through verbal face-to-face meetings,” Manalo said. 

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command, earlier disclosed details of the incident which took place on Sunday, November 20. 

According to the AFP, a floating object had been spotted about 800 yards west of Pag-asa Island, prompting Philippine naval authorities to send a team to retrieve and examine the object. The team tied the object to their boat for towing, after which a Chinese coast guard vessel was said to have approached and blocked the Philippine boat’s course twice. 

The Chinese coast guard later deployed an inflatable boat that cut the Philippine vessel’s tow line and took the object to the coast guard ship.

Following the incident, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed officials to contact the Chinese embassy for a report. Beijing earlier rejected the Philippine military’s narration of events, instead calling the incident a “friendly exchange.”

“Of course, I am – I have complete trust in our Navy, and if this is what they say happened, I can only believe that that is what happened,” Marcos said.

Still, the Philippine leader cited the need to see why China differed in its description of the incident. “The word ‘forcibly’ was used in the Philippine Navy report. And that was not the characterization in the Chinese Navy report or the report coming from China,” Marcos said.

In 2022 alone, the Department of Foreign Affairs has issued 189 protests against China, 61 of which were filed under the Marcos government. 

In 2016, the Philippines won a historic and sweeping arbitral award that struck down China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea as illegal. China rejected the ruling and continues to ignore it, despite calls from the international community for Beijing to abide by the ruling. – Rappler.com

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Sofia Tomacruz

Sofia Tomacruz covers defense and foreign affairs. Follow her on Twitter via @sofiatomacruz.