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China 'blocks' medical evacuation of sick Filipino soldier in West PH Sea

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Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171772556956820140329-ayungin-brp-sierra-madre-CZ-1.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">The BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, part of the disputed Spratly Islands. <em>Chiara Zambrano, ABS-CBN News/File</em><strong></strong></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATED) </strong>— The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday released a video of China Coast Guard supposedly preventing the medical evacuation of a sick Philippine Navy personnel stationed in BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin shoal of the West Philippine Sea.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/5/philippines-says-china-disrupted-medical-evacuation-in-west-ph-sea-718">• Philippines says China disrupted medical evacuation in West PH Sea</a></div><p>According to PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela, the Philippine medical mission was &quot;harassed by vessels and small boats from the China Coast Guard through blocking operations.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/4/ph-vows-to-maintain-brp-sierra-madre-in-ayungin-shoal-security-official-1349">• Philippines vows to maintain BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal: official</a></div><p>The incident took place on May 19.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1798886526270804140&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fnews-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Anews-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2024-06-07T02%3A42%3A28.730807%3A4818b11b-c113-4cec-bedf-0bccddaf89de%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=341a69b4ee041c1dba882aef1305002aba7f9f80&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:560px;height:560px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1798886526270804140"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>&quot;Despite informing the Chinese Coast Guard via radio and public address system about the humanitarian nature of our mission for medical evacuation, they still engaged in dangerous maneuvers and even intentionally rammed the <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Philippine Navy Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat</span> while transporting the sick personnel,&quot; Tarriela said.</p><p>The sick Philippine soldier was transported to the hospital on the same day.</p><p>Tarriela described China&#x27;s action as &quot;barbaric and inhumane behavior.&quot;</p><p>In response, China foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China would &quot;allow&quot; the delivery of &quot;living necessities&quot; to and medical evacuation from BRP Sierra Madre.</p><p>&quot;China&#x27;s position on the issue of Ren&#x27;ai Jiao is clear. If the Philippines notifies the Chinese side in advance, we can allow delivery of living necessities to the grounded warship or evacuation of personnel concerned,&quot; Mao said.</p><p>&quot;However, the Philippines should not use this as an excuse for delivering construction materials to permanently occupy Ren&#x27;ai Jiao.&quot;</p><p>Thw Philippine&#x27;s position is that the West Philippine Sea — the part of the South China Sea in the Philippines&#x27; exclusive economic zone and continental shelf — is in the Philippines and that it does not need to seek permission for activities in its waters. </p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/4/afp-denies-brp-sierra-madre-troops-pointed-guns-at-ccg-personnel-919">• AFP denies BRP Sierra Madre troops pointed guns at China Coast Guard</a></div><p>&quot;What should have been a simple medical evacuation operation was subjected to harassment, with the excessive deployment [of China],&quot; Tarriela said.</p><p>Earlier this week, the Armed Forces of the Philippines also reported that China &quot;seized and dumpled&quot; food supplies intended for Philippine troops in BRP Sierra Madre.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/4/afp-confirms-china-coast-guard-seized-dumped-supplies-meant-for-ayungin-troops-1127">• China Coast Guard &#x27;seized, dumped&#x27; supplies meant for Ayungin troops: AFP</a></div><p>The BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting World War 2 ship deliberately grounded by the Philippines on the shoal in 1999 to assert its stake in the area, has become a major flashpoint in the West Philippine Sea conflict.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/08/07/23/why-is-a-rusty-philippine-warship-involved-in-the-south-china-sea-dispute">• Why is a rusty Philippine warship involved in the South China Sea dispute?</a></div><p>China has also repeatedly demanded the removal of BRP Sierra Madre from the shoal, citing an alleged past promise by Manila. However, Philippine officials have denied such claims.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/3/senate-probe-sought-into-treasonous-duterte-china-gentleman-s-agreement-1046">• Senate probe sought into &#x27;treasonous&#x27; Duterte-China &#x27;gentleman&#x27;s agreement&#x27;</a></div><div><strong>—With reports from Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLh4OxCuYZI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The sick Philippine soldier was transported to the hospital on the same day.</p>

The sick Philippine soldier was transported to the hospital on the same day.

WATCH: China 'blocks' medical evacuation of sick Filipino soldier in West PH Sea

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WATCH: China 'blocks' medical evacuation of sick Filipino soldier in West PH Sea

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 07, 2024 10:35 AM PHT

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Updated Jun 07, 2024 11:54 PM PHT

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China

Beijing

West Philippine Sea

Ayungin shoal

BPP Sierra Madre

China Coast Guard

PCG

Navy

ANC

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