THE Philippines sent a note verbale to China to seek clarification on the incident where a Chinese Coast Guard forcefully seized floating rocket debris being towed by the Philippine Navy near Pag-asa Island, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Thursday.

In an interview over CNN Philippines’ The Source, Manalo said, “We have issued a note verbale already, seeking clarification from China on the incident. We, of course, have our own reports, but we would like to hear it from the side of China.”

The secretary said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continues to study the incident, including if there are further diplomatic actions needed to be taken.

On Monday, the Puerto Princesa, Palawan-based Western Command (WESCOM) reported that the China Coast Guard (CCG) interfered with the efforts of its personnel to recover the floating debris spotted near Pag-asa Island Sunday.

The debris was drifting towards Pag-asa Island’s Cay 1 sand bar due to strong waves and currents when spotted by the Naval Station Emilio Liwanag (NSEL) personnel through a long-range camera.

This prompted the NSEL personnel to immediately proceed to the site aboard a rigid-hulled inflatable boat to investigate and later decided to tie the object securely to the boat and started towing it.

While retrieving the debris, the NSEL personnel noticed that a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with bow number CCGV-5203 was approaching their location and subsequently blocked their pre-plotted course twice.

CCGV-5203 then deployed its RHIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat), the WESCOM said. The Chinese then “forcefully took” the floating object by cutting the towing line attached to the NSEL rubber boat and brought the object to its mother ship.

The Chinese embassy denied it forcefully took the item, saying there was a “friendly consultation” between involved parties. it identified the floating object as the wreckage of the fairing of a rocket recently launched by the East Asian nation.

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Cristina Lee-Pisco