Philippines’ Marcos calls on China to explain mismatched reports of rocket debris seizure

Beijing insists the handover of rocket debris on Sunday took place after ‘friendly consultation’. The Philippine navy said it was ‘forcefully’ seized

The Philippine president said he would send a diplomatic note to Beijing asking ‘why is it that their account is so different’ and ‘much more benign’

Reading Time:2 minutes

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said he wants Beijing to explain the mismatched reports of Sunday’s incident in the South China Sea. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:34am, 23 Nov 2022Updated: 9:36am, 23 Nov 2022

The Philippines will ask Beijing to explain its “more benign” account of an incident involving Chinese coastguard taking rocket debris from Filipino soldiers in disputed waters, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said.

A senior Filipino navy official on Monday accused the Chinese coastguard of “forcefully” seizing parts of a rocket fairing on Sunday that landed in waters off the Spratly Islands in the hotly contested South China Sea.

Beijing insisted the handover took place after “friendly consultation”.

“The report of the Philippine navy and the report from China did not match,” Marcos told reporters on Tuesday. “I have complete trust in our navy and if this is what they say happened, I can only believe that that is what happened.”

The Philippine navy said a team dispatched form a Chinese coastguard vessel ‘forcefully retrieved’ the rocket debris on Sunday by cutting a towing line attached to a Filipino boat. Photo: Philippine coastguard via AP

Marcos said Manila would send a diplomatic note to Beijing asking “why is it that their account is so different and it’s much more benign”.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x