Senators could not hide their anger after witnessing the incident of harassment of Philippine Navy personnel by an alleged Chinese vessel near the Pag-asa Islands in the West Philippine Sea last November.
In the video shown by Sen. Francis Tolentino in the Senate, it can be seen that while Philippine Navy personnel were pulling debris from an allegedly fallen part of the rocket while carrying a rubber boat, it was forcibly blocked by what he said was a Chinese vessel and cut the rope.
“Chinese diplomats denied that the incident occurred. They denied that the incident occured, claiming that the friendly consultation took place but the footage on reports clearly show that CCG (Chinese Coast Guard) assertively took the debris in the area while within the Philippine territory,” said Tolentino.
Also heard in the video is the shouting of one of the personnel of the Philippine Navy on the ship.
Tolentino insisted this is clear interference by China in Philippine territory.
Alleged abuse by China Coast Guard in PH Navy angered senators
In his privilege speech, the senator detailed other incidents of alleged Chinese harassment and interference in the country.
The senators were outraged by what they saw and bluntly called the incident another form of Chinese bullying.
“Ano pa po ang kailangan natin gawin para tigilan ng ating kaibigan na malaking bansa sa Asya ang kanilang pang-aabuso at hindi pagsunod sa isang maliwang na ruling na dapat nilang respetuhin. Bawal ang bully sa mundo,” said Sen. Loren Legarda.
“Kung nakikinig ang mga Chinese ngayon, we are disgusted and we are offended by what you are doing to our troops in the West Philippine Sea,” said kay Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
“As a nation, we wanted to send this message to this bullying country that they will never be able to bully us,” added Sen. Joel Villanueva.
Because of this, the senators will pass a resolution that will state the position of the Senate and will be pursued before the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Beijing, China, in January 2023.
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