Philippines demands return of firearms confiscated by Chinese during sea encounter
2024.06.19
Manila

UPDATED at 4:07 p.m. ET on 2024-06-19
The Philippines’ military chief on Wednesday demanded that China return firearms its coast guard seized from Filipino troops during what he described as harassment of the country’s resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in which one Filipino sailor lost a finger.
The incident Monday set off a war of words, with Beijing accusing the Philippine side of deliberately causing a collision. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his Philippine counterpart, Enrique Manalo, discussed China’s “escalatory actions” against Manila, the U.S. State Department said.
Meanwhile, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Wednesday visited the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (WESCOM) in Palawan, a province fronting the South China Sea. He said he was there to rally the troops, pinning a medal to Navy man Jeffrey Facundo who lost a digit in Monday’s incident.
Local media in Palawan earlier reported that seven other Filipinos sustained minor injuries when the China Coast Guard intercepted a rigid-hulled inflatable boat belonging to the Philippine Navy in the vicinity of Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin and called Ren’ai Jiao by Beijing.
“Our action now is that we are demanding that the Chinese return our rifles and our equipment. And we are also demanding from them to pay for the damages that they have caused,” Brawner said in Palawan. Transcripts of his comments were made available to reporters.
“We cannot allow them to just take and destroy our equipment. For me, this is piracy already because they boarded our boat illegally, they (took) our equipment,” Brawner said. “Again, they are like pirates for doing such actions.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed its vessel was forcibly towed, looted and damaged, and that Chinese personnel used machetes, blades and pikes to threaten sailors and damage equipment.
The incident was first reported by the Chinese press, which accused the Philippine side of setting off the confrontation when it ignored warnings and proceeded toward a rusting Navy ship that Manila purposely grounded there in 1999 to serve as its outpost in the disputed region.
At a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said what caused the incident was “deliberate intrusion into the waters of Ren’ai Jiao” and that “the law enforcement action taken by China Coast Guard on the scene was professional and restrained.”
Rear Adm. Alfonso Torres, the WESCOM chief, said the CCG confiscated seven rifles aboard the Philippine Navy boat they intercepted. They also destroyed the boat’s communications and navigational equipment as well as the personal mobile phones of the Filipino personnel.
Torres said the firearms that were seized were disassembled and in gun cases because troops have strict instructions not to show or handle firearms in the vicinity of the disputed shoal, to dial down the tension. He said one of the CCG boats rammed the Philippine Navy boat at high speed, injuring Facundo who lost his right thumb.

The Chinese armed with blades and machetes then boarded the Filipino vessel and pointed weapons at the Filipinos, who fought back, though outmatched, Brawner said, adding that the Chinese boats outnumbered Philippine ones eight to one.
Before disembarking, the Chinese personnel punctured the Philippine boat with a bladed weapon, he added.
“The core issue remains – the illegal presence and actions of Chinese vessels within our jurisdiction. The continued aggressive behavior of the Chinese Coast Guard is what escalates tensions in the area,” Brawner said.
The incident was the third this year in which Philippine personnel have been hurt on missions to rotate and resupply troops stationed at Second Thomas Shoal. On March 5 and March 23, Filipino crew members were injured when their supply boats were hit by water cannons from Chinese vessels.
China says resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre violate its jurisdiction despite the reef being located well inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
Six parties hold overlapping claims in the South China Sea, with Beijing’s the most expansive, including more than 80% of its waters.
Jojo Riñoza contributed to this report from Manila
This story has been updated to include the conversation between Blinken and Manalo.