Published April 10, 2021, 5:59 PM
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Saturday, April 10, that the result of the investigation on the reported harassment of a Philippine civilian boat by Chinese military vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) will determine the courses of action that it would take.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Major Cherryl Tindog, chief of WesCom’s public affairs office, said the probe will focus on the circumstances of the chase down of a motor banca boarded by a television crew from ABS-CBN by two missile-attack craft of Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and a Coast Guard (CCG) ship near Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Reef) in Kalayaan, Palawan.
(Photo courtesy of AFP)
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) slammed the military after it released a statement cautioning journalists “to exercise prudence” in doing their jobs, including making voyage in the WPS.
“It is almost like the military is asking the Filipino journalists ‘what were you doing there?’ even when the better question might be aimed at the AFP: What were you not doing there?” the NUJP said in a statement Friday, April 9.
The issue stemmed from a chase down of a civilian motor banca carrying the crew of ABS-CBN, led by television reporter Chiara Zambrano, by two missile-attack craft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Coast Guard near Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Reef) in Kalayaan, Palawan.
Published April 9, 2021, 2:34 PM
The Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) initiated an investigation on Friday, April 9, to verify the alleged harrassment of Chinese military vessels on a civilian Philippine vessel in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Photo of Chinese vessels spotted at the Julian Felipe Reef on March 27, 2021
(Photo courtesy of National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea / FILE PHOTO)
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered the AFP’s Western Command to “investigate, gather, and validate all the relevant facts” pertaining to the chase down of two missile-attack craft from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Chinese Coast Guard on a boat boarded by the television crew of ABS-CBN, led by reporter Chiara Zambrano, near the Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Reef).
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