By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO and LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA Integrated News
The Philippine Navy denied Monday China’s claim that it has occupied Sandy Cay, which it calls Tiexian Reef, in the South China Sea.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the claim is meant to divert the attention of the public amid allegations of Chinese spies and an alleged troll farm hired by the Chinese Embassy in Manila in 2023.
“Chineck natin kasama ang Coast Guard, ang Navy, ang AFP, ang BFAR, and other agencies. Walang nakita doon and we were able to debunk ‘yung pinapalabas nila na may picture sila,” Trinidad told Super Radyo dzBB.
(We checked together with the Coast Guard, the Navy, the AFP, the BFAR, and other agencies. Nothing was found there, and we were able to debunk what they were claiming that they had a picture.)
“Hindi nga nakalagay kung kailan ‘yung picture na nakuha,” he added.
(The photo didn’t even indicate when it was taken.)
This came after China claimed that it seized control of Sandy Cay, which is part of the Spratly Islands.
Trinidad said that authorities also saw around four Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and 19 maritime militia near Sandy Cay.
“May nakitang mga CCG at maritime militia na dati rati naman ay nandoon sila sapagkat ang Sandy Cay ay malapit naman ito sa Pag-Asa [Island],” he said.
(Some CCG and maritime militia vessels were spotted, but they have always been there because Sandy Cay is close to Pag-asa Island.)
Trinidad also assured the public that Philippine authorities are continuously monitoring Sandy Cay.
‘Usual tactic’
At a separate press conference, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) also vehemently denied that China has already taken over Sandy Cay, saying that such overclaiming of areas is a usual tactic by the Chinese government.
“This press conference was called to clarify and state for the record the Philippine response to the alleged seizure of Sandy Cay, to effectively address this alleged seizure. We have to give equal space to our position, so give us the opportunity to assure the people and the world that no seizure happened,” NTF-WPS member and National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said.
“The Chinese disinformation [effort] is why they (Chinese) have seized control of the Sandy Cay,” Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the WPS, added.
Tarriela cited that the findings of an inter-agency operation conducted meant to verify China’s claims of seizing certain cays or sandbank on Pag-asa Island, saying such operation found out that the while the Chinese ships are consistently present in the area, there was no takeover or seizure of Sandy Cay.
Sandy Cay which is located approximately two nautical miles away from Pag-asa Island.
“China Coast Guard 5102 never landed on the Pagasa Cay 2. From a certain distance, they were just taking photos and videos of the activities of the members of the [Philippine] team while we were inspecting the immediate surroundings," Tarriela said.
“We also monitored seven Chinese vessels anchored between Pag-asa Cay 2 and Cay 3. In almost three hours, we were able to complete this operation,” Tarriela added.
Malaya then said such verification effort of Philippine authorities should ease fears, if there are any, that China has taken over Sandy Cay.
“We assure the public that we have not lost anything. We conducted an emergency operation yesterday, and there is no occupation of the Pag-asa Cays. Until today, there is no occupation of the Pag-asa Island Cays," Malaya said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
