Feeling the heat due to other countries expressing support to the Philippines and condemning the act of pointing a laser at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel conducting a resupply mission off the water of Ayungin Shoal, Beijing then denied pointing lasers at the crew, saying it did “not reflect the truth.”

The crew of BRP Malapascua was conducting a resupply mission on February 6 in waters off the Ayungin Shoal, which is well within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), to which China is a signatory, when the Chinese Coast Guard pointed the said laser.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin who had earlier decried that the Philippine Coast Guard was intruding off the Chinese waters said that the allegations did “not reflect the truth.”

He insisted that Ayungin Shoal is part of their territory, and the Philippine Coast Guard vessel “intruded” into the waters and that the Chinese coast guard “was compelled to respond in accordance with law and warned the vessel to leave the area.”

“During that process, the China Coast Guard ship used hand-held laser speed detector and hand-held greenlight pointer to measure the distance and speed of the Philippine vessel and signal directions to ensure navigation safety,” Wang said.

“We need to highlight the fact that the China Coast Guard ship did not direct lasers at the Philippine crew, and the hand-held equipment does not inflict damage on anything or anyone on the vessel,” he added.

“The Philippine side’s allegation does not reflect the truth,” Wang said.

The PCG had stuck with the version that it was pointed at them and that it even caused “temporary blindness” to the BRP Malapascua’s crew at the bridge.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Monday called on the Chinese government to control its forces after the laser-pointing incident.

“The Secretary of National Defense has already declared or said that the act committed by the Coast Guard of China is offensive and unsafe,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar told reporters.

Aguilar said this was the first time that the CCG directed a laser light at a PCG ship.

The Philippines on Tuesday protested China’s use of military-grade lasers, and dangerous maneuvers, against the BRP Malapascua which was on a resupply mission for Filipino troops in Ayungin Shoal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, Manila had called out China’s Coast Guard for its “latest aggressive activities”, heightening tensions anew between the two Asian neighbors locked in yearslong territorial disputes in the resource-rich waters.

The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Japan called on China to respect the UNCLOS.

CurrentPH News Service