The incident was reported when Bautista told Monday the foreign correspondents in the Philippines about the incident: “Chinese Coast Guard tried to drive away Filipino fishing vessels to the extent of using water cannon.
Asked if the Philippines would lodge a protest over the incident, Bautista said they would first have to investigate.
What? Twenty-eight days have passed and the government is still investigating?
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS, VERA Files (Conclusion) The permanent stationing of three of its ships in Bajo de Masinloc is part of China’s “creeping invasion” of…
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS, VERA Files (First of two parts) The Philippines is at a loss over China’s declaration its ships will stay permanently in Bajo…
Adverse weather situation provided a face-saving exit for both the Philippines and China in the more than two-month standoff over Scarborough shoal, also referred to as Panatag shoal or Bajo de Masinloc by Filipinos and Huangyan island by the Chinese.
President Aquino said there would be no need to send back Philippine ships to Scarborough shoal if no vessel from other countries would be seen during aerial reconnaissance that the Philippine Air Force would be regularly doing.
But before that, careful not to be seen as the one who blinked first, Filipino and Chinese officials issued statements that were both conciliatory and contradictory.