Philippines Rejects Beijing’s Claim of Journalists Smearing China’s Coast Guard

The Philippines embedded journalists on a ship resupply mission at the Scarborough Shoal to “truthfully report” on the “illegal presence” of Chinese coast guard ships there, a senior Philippine official said Sunday. Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) spokesman, made the remarks after Chinese state-owned media accused journalists onboard a Philippine fishing vessel of trying to “smear and hype” the Chinese coast guard’s operation near the disputed shoal on Feb. 22. Both the Philippines and China assert sovereignty over the shoal. Manila refers to it as “Bajo de Masinloc,” while Beijing calls it “Huangyan Island.” “The Philippine government embeds journalist[s] not to smear your illegal presence, bullying behavior, and provocative tactics in Bajo De Mansiloc, but to truthfully report on the situation without any bias or influence,” Mr. Tarriela stated on X (formerly Twitter)....