By Rafaela David, Akbayan Party president
(Editor’s note: This press release has been rewritten in the first-person perspective)
China has attacked Filipino civilians, and they must be held accountable.
As president of the Akbayan Party, I strongly condemn the China Coast Guard’s ramming of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel, the brp Datu Magat Salamat, in the West Philippine Sea. This was a reckless, dangerous assault that directly put our civilians in harm’s way.
Our vessel was simply carrying out a lawful government mission to deliver fuel assistance to Filipino fisherfolk near Abad Santos Shoal. Instead of safe passage, they were met by China Coast Guard vessel CCG-21585, which executed repeated, dangerous maneuvers before violently striking our ship. The collision damaged the vessel’s railings, metal stanchions and supports, deck fixtures and equipment. All of this occurred just 54 nautical miles off Palawan — undeniably and well within our exclusive economic zone.
Let me be absolutely clear: China attacked a civilian vessel carrying out a humanitarian mission for our fisherfolk. They risked Filipino lives simply because our people were doing their jobs, trying to help our citizens exercise their lawful right to make a living in our own waters. As a co-convenor of the Atin Ito Coalition, I see this as a direct affront to our sovereignty and our people.
China has absolutely no business sailing in our waters, much less ramming our ships. They are weaponizing their size and power to intimidate, obstruct, and endanger Filipinos. We cannot brush this off as a mere maritime incident; it is a calculated attack on civilians and a direct threat to their safety and livelihood.
We at Akbayan recognize that this blatant aggression violates the rules protecting safe navigation and lives at sea, as well as our maritime rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award. I stand in absolute solidarity with the personnel aboard the brp Datu Magat Salamat, our fisherfolk and all civilians navigating the West Philippine Sea. I call upon our government to aggressively pursue every diplomatic and legal avenue to hold China accountable and to fortify the protection of our people.
We cannot allow attacks on Filipino civilians to become the new normal. China must answer for putting our lives on the line. We must stand firm as a nation and make it undeniably clear: no amount of intimidation, harassment, or aggression will ever drive us away from our own waters.
