Volunteer Filipino artists work on their respective murals along the Camp Aguinaldo High School perimeter wall on Boni Serrano Avenue, Quezon City, as part of the WPS Mural Festival on April 9, 2026. The project aims to highlight the beauty of the Philippines and the importance of protecting the West Philippine Sea. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — China's actions during a recent rotation and resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal appear intended to show the world that Philippine troops in the West Philippine Sean cannot be resupplied without Beijing’s permission, a Philippine Coast Guard official said.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela said the Philippine government’s position remains—that it does not need to seek permission or guidance from China to conduct RoRe missions, which are “routine, legal and humanitarian” operations.
Three People’s Liberation Army Navy warships and five China Coast Guard vessels, including two Houbei-class missile boats, harassed and prevented Philippine troops from resupplying the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal on September 24.
Citing information from the armed forces, Tarriela told reporters in an interview in Basco, Batanes that no Philippine personnel were injured in the incident.
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He added that the Philippine vessel M/V Lapu-Lapu was forced to return because of the “provocative and aggressive maneuvering” of Chinese maritime forces.
Tarriela said the mission was not completed and argued that China is seeking to reassert control over how the Philippines conducts its resupply operations.
“For me, what China is doing right now is that they want to show the international community and even the Philippine government that there will be no RoRe if there's no permission,” the official said.
The Philippines has repeatedly maintained that it did not ask China for permission during previous successful RoRe missions, despite the provisional understanding between the two sides.
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“If we remember, these past weeks, these past months, we keep on mentioning for every successful RoRe that we have completed that we didn’t ask for permission," he said.
"That has been clearly explained by the president and even expounded by the Department of Foreign Affairs," Tarriela stressed.
Citing guidance from Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, the coast guard official said "there's no reason for us to ask permission from anybody."