MANILA, Philippines – Magpapatupad ng unspecified “countermeasures” ang Pilipinas sa “aggressive and dangerous attacks” ng China laban sa mga sundalong Filipino at mga mangingisda sa West Philippine Sea.
Sa pahayag ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., sinabi niya na nagbigay na siya ng direktiba sa Department of National Defense (DND) at concerned government agencies para labanan ang aksyon ng China Coast Guard at maritime militia sa West Philippine Sea, o dagat na pasok sa 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) ng bansa.
Ang matibay na pahayag ni Marcos ay kasunod ng March 23 water cannon attack sa supply boat ng Philippine Navy na Unaizah May 4 (UM 4).
Tatlong manlalayag ang nasaktan dahil dito. Patungo sana sa BRP Sierra Madre ang supply boat.
“Over the succeeding weeks, there shall be implemented by the relevant national government agencies and instrumentalities a response and countermeasure package that is proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia,” saad sa pahayag ni Marcos.
Nang tanungin kung ano pa ang ibang detalye kaugnay sa countermeasures, sinabi ni DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong na siya ay “not privy to the directives of the President or the recommendations” ng security officials kay Marcos.
“The meeting was conducted in private,” ani Andolong.
Ayon naman kay Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, ang countermeasures “will be made public in due time.”
Siniguro ng Pangulo na patuloy siyang nakikipag-ugnayan sa mga “allies, partners and friends” ng Pilipinas sa international community kaugnay sa mga aksyon ng China sa WPS.
“They have offered help to us on what the Philippines requires to protect and secure our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction while ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
“We seek no conflict with any nation, more so nations that purport and claim to be our friends but we will not be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience,” aniya.
“Filipinos do not yield.”
Sa pahayag nitong Biyernes, sinabi ng DND na hindi makikipaglaban ang Pilipinas sa China ngunit hindi rin naman ito magpapatinag sa mga mapaniil na aksyon ng nasabing bansa laban sa mga sundalo at mangingisdang Pinoy.
“The world has seen and knows that the Filipino people are not aggressors,” ayon sa DND. RNT/JGC
