China: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has called on the Philippines to remove a grounded World War II warship. The renewed demand comes after the Philippines accused China’s coastguard of firing water cannon at boats on a mission to resupply the Philippine garrison stationed on the grounded vessel.
The BRP Sierra Madre, deliberately grounded in the late 1990s in an effort to check the advance of China in the hotly contested waters, has long been a source of tension between the two countries.
“China once again urges the Philippine side to immediately remove the warship from Second Thomas Shoal and restore it to its unoccupied state,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
According to the Ministry, China has communicated with the Philippines on the Second Thomas Shoal issue “many times” through diplomatic channels, but its goodwill and sincerity have been “ignored.”
“The Philippine side has repeatedly made clear promises to tow away the warship illegally ‘stranded’ on the reef,” a spokesperson for the Ministry commented.
“Twenty-four years have passed, and the Philippine side has not only failed to tow away the warship but also attempted to repair and reinforce it on a large scale to achieve permanent occupation of the Ren’ai Reef,” the spokesperson added.
The Philippines promptly responded that it would not abandon the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.
Mr. Jonathan Malaya, the Assistant Director General of the Philippine National Security Council, repeated that “the Philippines will never abandon our post in Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).”
“We urge China not to escalate matters with water cannons or military-grade lasers, which place Philippine lives at risk, but by sincere negotiations and other diplomatic means,” Mr. Malaya added.
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