PCG: China practices doublespeak regarding maritime actions

MANILA, Philippines — By saying one thing at official meetings and doing another in Philippine territorial waters, China has exposed its true self as a “bully and untrustworthy,” Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commodore Jay Tarriela said yesterday.

“The Philippine Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard had an annual Joint Coast Guard Committee (JCGC) meeting during the time of the previous administration, but the People’s Republic of China says one thing at the meeting and does another at sea, which is a clear indication that they are bully and untrustworthy,” Tarriela said on X, in response to an article in the Global Times, China’s English language newspaper.

Tarriela is also the PCG spokesman on the West Philippine Sea.

The JCGC, established during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was intended to strengthen maritime cooperation between the Philippines and China by opening communication lines.

The Global Times article was titled “Chinese Foreign Minister urges countries outside the region not to stir up trouble in the South China Sea.”

The article quoted Ding Duo, deputy director at the Research Center for Ocean Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, as saying that the Philippines had abused China’s goodwill and distorted maritime laws.

Ding claimed China and the Philippines used to maintain communications on the South China Sea issue, but the Philippines later reneged on its word and did things differently at sea.

He even reported that China had provided temporary arrangements for supply mission for troops on the BRP Sierra Madre.

China, he added, had also allowed Filipino fishermen to ply their trade in Panatag Shoal under certain conditions.

Tensions have risen in the past weeks in the West Philippine Sea as Chinese coast guard and militia vessels continue to harass Filipino fishermen and PCG vessels.

Last week, the Chinese again attempted to stop a resupply mission to the Sierra Madre, including by blasting resupply boats with water cannons.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., meanwhile, expressed appreciation for the results of the OCTA Research survey conducted last December