SOLON SUGGESTS AIR DROPPING SUPPLIES TO AYUNGIN

A LAWMAKER proposed delivering supplies via airdrop for troopers in Ayungin Shoal.

Cagayan de Oro 2nd dist. Rep. Rufus Rodriguez made the proposal in a bid to stop exposing civilian boats to danger during resupply missions to the Ayungin Shoal.

“Let’s end this practice. I do not see the rationale for using civilian boats and crew in delivering supplies to our soldiers whose presence in that remote part of the West Philippine Sea symbolizes our national sovereignty and territorial integrity there,” Rodriguez on Saturday said.

The Cagayan solon said the assets of the Air Force and Navy could be used in these missions.

“The danger Air Force and Navy personnel would face in those missions is the same as that civilian boat crew have to contend. But unlike civilians who are just doing a civic duty, it is the responsibility of the military to resupply our troops in Ayungin and protect our country’s national sovereignty and territory,” Rodriguez said.

The lawmaker issued the statement after a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel in an attempt to block a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

The country has filed a diplomatic protest over the incident. This is the 125th diplomatic protest filed during the Marcos administration.

Rodriguez added that the country’s allies could be asked to take part in the air drops and military videographers and photographers could document the resupply missions.

BRP Sierra Madre, a former US Navy ship the Philippines grounded in 1999, is in the Second Thomas Shoal, a hotly-disputed atoll known as Ayungin Shoal to Manila and claimed by Beijing as Ren’ai Reef.

“CCG vessel 5203 deployed water cannon against Philippine supply vessel M/L Kalayaan in an illegal though unsuccessful attempt to force the latter to alter course” said the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.

Supply boats Unaizah Mae 1 and M/L Kalayaan were also subjected to extremely reckless and dangerous harassment at close proximity by CCG boats inside Ayungin Shoal Lagoon during their approach to BRP Sierra Madre.

The supply mission was carried out successfully despite the blockade.