Transcript: Sen. Raphael Warnock on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 3, 2026

2026-05-03T10:25:28-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 3, 2026.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Last week, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a 2022 Louisiana congressional map that had been gerrymandered to create a second majority-Black district. The three liberal justices dissented, saying the ruling would quote, “eviscerate” a section of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, while conservatives in the majority said the decision “updated” its legal framework. Reverend Raphael Warnock, democratic senator from the state of Georgia, joins us this morning from Atlanta. Welcome back to the program.

SEN. REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So our CBS News legal analyst described this decision as narrowing the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Effectively, it means it’s now going to be harder to bring any lawsuits claiming that gerrymandering discriminates along racial lines unless there is proof of that intent. Why do you call that a defeat for American democracy?

SEN. WARNOCK: Margaret, let’s be clear, what happened this week is nothing less than a massive and devastating blow, not only to our democracy, but particularly to people of color in the South. This question about intent is on its head, misleading, and it ignores our history. We had 100 years after the 15th Amendment was passed, which, on paper, gave Black people the right to vote, but with supposedly or putatively race neutral methods. For 100 years, the right to vote was denied. But in more recent history, the Supreme Court, this same conservative Supreme Court, hobbled Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 with Shelby v. Holder. Since then, we’ve seen the racial turnout gap get wider and wider, not smaller, and it has grown twice as fast in the states that used to be under Section 5. We will see a devastating impact as a result of this, and now, more than ever, we’ve got to stand up and fight for our democracy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But as you just said, the Voting Rights Act has been, you know, weighed by the court multiple times, including back in 2013 but when it was originally written, there were things in place that- that don’t exist now, right? There was, there was a poll tax in southern states. The law required nine of those states to go get federal approval or pre-clearance before they changed their own voting rules. Congress in the 80s updated this law. Are you of the opinion that the law needs to stand as it was originally written, or does Congress now need to do some work to update it?

SEN. WARNOCK: Listen, I- I know that there are those who are tired of the remedy. I’m tired of racism. I think it’s a strange position to be more concerned about the medicine than you are about the malady. In- in that recent history, Roberts wrote in 2013 when they gutted Section 5, that- that this racial turnout gap had- had gone away. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she said, look, getting rid of the protections of the Voting Rights law, in this moment, it’s like getting rid of your umbrella in the midst of a rainstorm because you’re not getting wet. And since then, again, since then- everybody’s entitled to their own opinions, you’re not entitled to your own facts. Since then, the racial voter turnout has grown larger and twice as larger- twice as large in the states that were under Section 5, and that- there’s a reason for that, Margaret. Since they removed the protections of Section 5, states that used to play old games, they’re playing- they’re playing new games. They’re 21st Century Jim Crow tactics in new clothes, moving voter polls, closing polls in Black and Brown communities. The data shows that black and brown people spend much longer time in longer lines, purging people- people literally showing up and not knowing that their names have been purged from the rolls. And the data shows that this disproportionately impacts black and brown citizens. And now–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –So–

SEN. WARNOCK:–as a result of the decision this week. They’re saying that even when you show up, we have- we have given the green light so that politicians can play games with the lines, so that even when you overcome those barriers and show up–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yeah–

SEN. WARNOCK: –your voices will be muted.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, it sounds like you want to go back to the letter of the law from 1965, you want Congress to, once again, reinstitute preclearance for these southern states. That’s what I just heard you lay out.

SEN. WARNOCK: Yeah, that was absolutely–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay–

SEN. WARNOCK: –absolutely.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Alright, so when- I want to point something out to you, which is that the current Congress, statistically, in 2025 has a record high number, 66 Black members, according to Pew Research, including five Republi- Republicans, that’s the most to ever serve in Congress. People will look at that and say, we are in a different country than we were, as- as Roberts once argued, as you just pointed out. Now that we are in this redistricting arms race that both parties are playing with here, do you think that will hurt Black representation?

SEN. WARNOCK: I think that the court sadly poured fuel on this redistricting arms race. The solution to this really–

MARGARET BRENNAN: To be clear, you–

SEN. WARNOCK: –in my opinion–

MARGARET BRENNAN: –support redistricting that your party is carrying out.

SEN. WARNOCK: I- I do because Donald Trump, who is better at dividing us than anybody I know, instituted an arms race in redistricting, but I actually hate partisan gerrymandering. I- I don’t like gerrymandering, but we could not unilaterally disarm. He’s the one who called Texas and said, literally, give me six more seats. And so, California and other states had to respond, Virginia in kind. But the solution to this really is to ban partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering turns our elections on its head, so that rather than the people picking their politicians–

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right–

SEN. WARNOCK: –or their public servants, the politicians are picking their voters.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right exactly, which is why I’m asking you how you could support it. But I understand you’re saying the context of the moment is an emergency. Let me ask you–

SEN. WARNOCK: Well, we could- I have a bill though, Margaret, I have a bill.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I saw that bill, yes.

SEN. WARNOCK: –right now that would get that would get rid of partisan gerrymandering, and so far, I’ve had no Republican takers.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, as we just said, your party is supporting the partisan redistricting in places like California and Virginia as well. Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida said Democrats do not care about Black representation. They only care about Democrat representation. Here’s what Congressman Wesley Hunt of Texas said when he was asked about the decision of the four Black Republicans to leave Congress

REP. WESLEY HUNT SOT STARTS

REP. WESLEY HUNT: I represent a white majority district that President Trump would have won by over 20 points, and I won by 25 points the last time I ran. I’m being judged not by the color of my skin, but by the content of my character. I don’t care how many Black people are here. I want the most qualified people that are here.

REP. WESLEY HUNT SOT ENDS

MARGARET BRENNAN: So what do you make of the argument that you just heard there from Congressman Hunt.

SEN. WARNOCK: He doesn’t understand American history. No one- he’s quoting the words of Dr King. No one was more committed to a country that embraces all of us than Dr King. But Dr King, looking at that reality, is the one who is the moral power behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our covenant as an American people is E pluribus unum, out of many one. And so this notion that representation does not matter ignores history, it ignores the facts, is uninformed. Representation does matter. When I- when I go to the Senate, every week, I bring my story and my experience as a Black kid who grew up in public housing in Savannah, and so does that white kid who grew up in- in Appalachia. She brings her experience too. And so when- when we create an increasing monolith, which is what I think is going to happen as a result of these- this decision this week, we hurt the democracy itself, and we make it harder to get at a policy- policies that embrace all of our children and give every child a chance.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator, thank you for your time this morning. And I do want to note, since that Supreme Court decision, the governor’s Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee have all indicated interest in redrawing congressional maps.

SEN. WARNOCK: Yep. And we can end this right now by passing my bill.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Senator, we’ll leave it there. We’ll be right back.

奥地利北部营地“战争遗物”爆炸 致五名儿童受伤

2026年5月3日 22:45 / 联合早报

奥地利北部营地篝火下的“战争遗物”爆炸，导致五名年龄介于10至14岁的儿童受伤。

奥地利警方发声明说，目前正在调查“战争遗物”是如何出现在篝火区域下方的。 （示意图 / Pexels）

路透社报道，奥地利警方星期天（5月3日）说，这起事件发生在星期六（2日）晚上，位于上奥地利州弗赖施塔特附近的圣奥斯瓦尔德村（St Oswald bei Freistadt）。这个地区经常有青少年团体露营，受伤儿童则是来自上奥地利州其他地区的团体。

警方声明指出，爆炸发生后，警方检查了相邻的一个火坑，发现了另一个含有爆炸物的物体，同样被描述为“战争遗物”，随后召来了拆弹小组进行处理。

声明说：“目前正在调查这些战争遗物是如何出现在篝火区域下方的。”

警方说，目前尚不清楚这些儿童的伤势严重程度，他们已被送往附近林茨市的一家儿童医院。

虽然奥地利仍不时发现二战时期的炸弹，尤其是在建筑施工挖掘过程中，但像星期六这样的事故实属罕见。

Pirro on press dinner suspect: ‘It is definitively his bullet’ in vest of Secret Service officer

2026-05-03T15:06:02.028Z / CNN Politics

Pirro on press dinner suspect: ‘It is definitively his bullet’ in vest of Secret Service officer

By Jake Tapper, CNN

Published 11:06 AM EDT, Sun May 3, 2026

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Pirro on press dinner suspect: ‘It is definitively his bullet’ in vest of Secret Service officer

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro tells Jake Tapper, “We now can establish that a pellet that came from the buckshot, from the defendant’s Mossberg pump-action shotgun, was intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer.”

1:24 • Source: CNN

据报道，伦敦南部的布里克斯顿星期六（5月3日）凌晨发生的枪击事件，造成四人受伤。 （示意图 / Pexels）

英国伦敦南部发生一起无差别枪击事件，造成四人受伤送院。

英国天空新闻报道，这起事件发生在星期六（5月3日）凌晨，伦敦南部的布里克斯顿发生一起“无差别枪击事件”，所有受害者都有枪伤。

一名25岁男子伤势严重有生命危险，另外三名分别为21岁、47岁和70岁的伤者则没有生命危险。

警方说，正在调查约一小时后在附近发生的一起持刀伤人案件是否与这起枪击案有关。

据报道，警方周六凌晨1时14分（新加坡时间早上8时14分）接获报案称，在布里克斯顿科尔德哈伯巷（Coldharbour Lane）有人从车内开枪；凌晨2时17分，又接到报案称附近埃克巷（Acre Lane）发生持刀伤人事件。

在埃克巷，一名33岁男子被发现身中多刀，已送院治疗，伤势严重。

警方称，目前未逮捕任何人，并正努力追查肇事者。

据报道，伦敦南部的布里克斯顿星期六（5月3日）凌晨发生的枪击事件，造成四人受伤。 （示意图 / Pexels）

英国伦敦南部发生一起无差别枪击事件，造成四人受伤送院。

英国天空新闻报道，这起事件发生在星期六（5月3日）凌晨，伦敦南部的布里克斯顿发生一起“无差别枪击事件”，所有受害者都有枪伤。

一名25岁男子伤势严重有生命危险，另外三名分别为21岁、47岁和70岁的伤者则没有生命危险。

警方说，正在调查约一小时后在附近发生的一起持刀伤人案件是否与这起枪击案有关。

据报道，警方周六凌晨1时14分（新加坡时间早上8时14分）接获报案称，在布里克斯顿科尔德哈伯巷（Coldharbour Lane）有人从车内开枪；凌晨2时17分，又接到报案称附近埃克巷（Acre Lane）发生持刀伤人事件。

在埃克巷，一名33岁男子被发现身中多刀，已送院治疗，伤势严重。

警方称，目前未逮捕任何人，并正努力追查肇事者。

Transcript: Minneapolis Fed president and CEO Neel Kashkari on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 3, 2026

2026-05-03T11:58:07-0400 / CBS News

The following is the transcript of the interview with Minneapolis Fed president and CEO Neel Kashkari that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on May 3, 2026.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: We go now to Neel Kashkari, who is the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Good morning.

NEEL KASHKARI (President, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis): Good morning, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged this past week, and on Wednesday, you were one of three regional presidents who indicated that future rate cuts may not be appropriate and a hike could even be in the cards. You- you dissented there- are you saying that the financial markets and the White House should no longer expect the Fed to cut rates?

KASHKARI: I think we all need to be open-minded about where interest rates are going, because there’s so much uncertainty coming out of the Middle East. You know, I think I’m very focused, and many of my colleagues are, what happens in Iran, how long the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the longer it’s closed, the higher likely energy prices and fertilizer prices will go, the bigger impact it’s going to have on inflation here in America, and then we at the Fed have to take that on board. And so, I was simply saying that there’s so much uncertainty about the outlook in the Middle East right now, I don’t feel comfortable signaling that a rate cut is in the cards. You know, we might in the- in worse scenarios, we might have to go the other direction.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you were just listening to Kevin Hassett, the president’s economic adviser. He was not directly answering the question of what comes next, but he was painting a picture of continued tension. And I wonder now, since we’re in week 10 of this tension, however it’s defined, how are you going to be able to judge the inflation shock over the next few weeks until you get to that June meeting?

KASHKARI: Well, I’ll give you an example. So, the price effect, the energy effect and energy prices from the Iran conflict is already, by some measures, as big or larger than when Russia invaded Ukraine. So, it’s already having a big effect and we’re seeing it- you mentioned the PCE data- we’re already seeing it in the inflation numbers here at home. I talked to the CEO of a global company headquartered in Minnesota that has supply chains all around the world just last week, and they have estimated that even if the strait reopened today, it would probably take six months for their supply chains to return to something like normal. So I think for the Fed, we are going to have to watch what happens in the Middle East and the inflation data very carefully. That’s going to have to guide us. But if it’s a six-month process for inflation returning to normal, or something like normal, in the best-case scenario, I’m also very concerned about something that’s not the best-case scenario, and what that might do to prices here at home.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, we’ll hear from Chevron CEO later in the program. He also talks about just the many, many factors that are likely to keep energy prices elevated for some time. In your letter that you published, explaining why you dissented, you also said the labor market has been in a quote, “low hire, low fire environment” for some time. Right now, we’re seeing some corporate layoffs underway, and I wonder what the dynamic is that you think is playing out now, and how the energy shock is going to play into it.

KASHKARI: Well, so far, recently, the labor market has shown some signs of stabilization. So if you look at unemployment claims and new- new unemployment claims, they’re very low. The unemployment rate has been at around 4.3%. It’s bounced around a little bit for the last six months, so it seems like mostly the labor market is moving sideways. But the bigger the inflation shock that comes out of the Middle East, the more that’s going to force Americans to cut back in their spending, because they have to pay for gas, for example, so they’ll cut back other spending. That can have a way of tamping down economic growth, that even could translate into some weakness in the labor market. So at this moment, the labor market seems like it’s okay, but if this conflict is prolonged, or if it gets much worse from here, then I think that could be a real downward shift to the growth trajectory to the U.S. economy, and it’ll be uneven on who gets affected by that unfortunately.

MARGARET BRENNAN: When you say prolonged, what do you mean by that? We’re in week 10.

KASHKARI: Well, I mean, could it go on for months? Could it go on for the end of the year? I just don’t know. I’m not a foreign policy expert, but we’re watching very carefully. And that you know, the challenge the Fed is facing right now is really about uncertainty of the outlook for inflation, which stems back to what happens in the Middle East, and it seems like there’s a great deal of uncertainty about the path ahead, from what I can read.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about what’s happening with the Fed as an institution. The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve chair. He is expected to be confirmed in mid-May. During his testimony, he said the Fed has mishandled inflation over the past few years, and he said the Fed needs a quote, serious shaking up with a “good family fight.” Do you agree with that? There needs to be a good family fight and a change of how you do business?

KASHKARI: Well, I think we’re all looking forward to Kevin concluding his confirmation process, and we look forward to working with him and hearing his ideas. Some of the things that he’s talked about, I think we are- would welcome an examination of, how we communicate, this thing that we call the dot plot he’s talked about. I think many of us would like to examine that. There are things about the balance sheet and how we use the balance sheet. I think those are also- I think we would welcome a fresh examination of some of these policies. And so I think someone coming in and saying, hey, let’s reexamine how we use some of our tools, I think those are good discussions to have. I don’t think we’d be physically fighting I think that we’d have robust discussions over the benefits and the cost of these various tools, and I think that that would be worthwhile to have.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Or how you measure inflation?

KASHKARI: Well, I think that there are many different ways of measuring inflation. He has talked about in his confirmation hearing some of his preferred measures. We are always looking at different ways of measuring inflation, and in different moments, certain measures seem like they do a better job than others, and so I think we need to examine all of those options dispassionately and figure out what is the best measurement tool going forward.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Quickly, the national debt is now larger than the U.S. economy. It’s one- exceeds 100% of GDP going towards a record here. What risk does that pose?

KASHKARI: Well, no one knows. You know how big is the danger zone and when there’s going to actually trigger some kind of a crisis. If you look, I know you know this, if you look at the CBO’s forecast for where the debt is going, it’s absolutely headed to an unsustainable level. Ultimately, this is the job of our fiscal policymakers, Congress and the executive branch, to come together and put us on a- on a sound fiscal trajectory, which we’re not on right now. I don’t see an immediate crisis brewing, but at some point it’s going to be a problem, and ultimately our political system needs to address it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Neel Kashkari, thank you for sharing your insight this morning, and we’ll be right back with a lot more Face the Nation. Stay with us.

Secret Service agent ‘definitely’ shot by suspected gunman at last weekend’s correspondents’ dinner, US attorney says

2026-05-03 10:59 AM ET / CNN

By Betsy Klein

30 min ago

PUBLISHED May 3, 2026, 10:59 AM ET

Prosecutors released video showing the alleged attacker, Cole Tomas Allen, circled, moments before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25.

US Attorney for DC

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Sunday that the Secret Service agent who was shot at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last weekend was hit by a shotgun blast from the suspect charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump.

“We now can establish that a pellet that came from the buckshot, from the defendant’s Mossberg pump action shotgun, was intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer,” Pirro said during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

Pirro’s DC US attorney’s office filed several charges against Cole Tomas Allen following the attack.

“It is definitely his bullet,” she added.

A CNN analysis of hotel surveillance video released by Pirro’s office last week, coupled with audio taken from inside the ballroom during the shooting, does not definitively conclude when or whether Allen fired a shot. But the audio analysis does indicate that six shots total were fired during the incident, which aligns with initial statements by law enforcement that Allen fired one shot, while a responding officer fired five more.

Pirro said that additional surveillance video of the incident “will be released.” She also offered new details on where Allen went in the moments before he charged past law enforcement officers at the security checkpoint.

In the video, a law enforcement K9 and its handler looked inside a doorway that Allen entered. The dog briefly enters the doorway, though it remains unclear what exactly was seen.

“He goes into that room to take off a long coat that he has on,” Pirro told Tapper, reiterating, “He’s wearing a long, dark coat because he has to hide the Mossberg pump action shotgun.”

Pirro said that the K9 is a “bomb detection dog.”

US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro points at a picture of a shotgun carried by Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting incident in Washington at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. April 27, 2026.

Kylie Cooper/Reuters

Jonathan Wackrow, a former US Secret Service agent and CNN contributor, said that the dog would have been trained to sniff for “high-order explosives” but was likely not trained to be able to pick up on the scent of the powder in a shotgun shell.

“These dogs are deployed mission-specific. The mission here was to find high-order explosives or explosive devices that could hurt the general public or the president, not to find ammunition,” he said.

While Allen faces an initial charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, his charges could expand or change as a grand jury investigation progresses toward a potential indictment.

“There’s initial charges and there’s an investigation, and to the extent that the government learns more things, I assure you they will, they will become charges,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said during an appearance Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

There will be a preliminary hearing with the grand jury on May 8, Pirro said.

Though an alleged manifesto written by Allen does not name Trump as a target, Pirro said her office has enough evidence to establish him as the “very clear” target.

“We have a lot of evidence that indicates his intent and the fact that everything that he did thereafter, whether it was, you know, following what the president was doing, where he was going to the day of the of the event at the hotel, asking on his phone, ‘Is the president in the ballroom yet? Has the president sat down yet? What time will dinner be served?’” she said.

She continued: “This is clearly – the president is a target. And make no mistake, it is not just the manifesto, it is his actions.”

This photo released by the US Attorney for the District of Columbia shows a shotgun lying at the bottom of the stairs to the ballroom.

US Attorney’s Office

Pirro downplayed any argument of insanity, saying that Allen is “far from insane – he is brilliant. … This is a guy who had no psychotic break.”

She also dismissed the idea that she would recuse herself from the case since she was a potential target of Allen’s as a member of the Trump administration.

“Absolutely not. … My ability to prosecute this case has nothing to do with my being there,” she said.

CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Michael Williams, Thomas Bordeaux and Aileen Graef contributed to this report

美国联邦检察官皮罗（左二）星期天说，闯美国白宫记者晚宴的枪手，确实射中一名特勤局人员。 （路透社）

美国联邦检察官星期天说，调查人员已找到明确证据，指闯美国白宫记者晚宴的枪手，确实射中一名特勤局特工。

美国联邦检察官皮罗星期天（5月3日）接受美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）访问时说，调查人员现在可以明确指出，击中这名特工的子弹是来自枪手艾伦（Cole Tomas Allen，31岁）的枪火。“我们现已证实，被告所持的莫斯伯格泵动式霰弹枪发射的一颗铅弹，已嵌入这名特工防弹背心的纤维中。”

她补充说：“这绝对是他的子弹，他击中那名特勤局特工。他当时完全打算杀死他以及任何阻碍他刺杀美国总统的人。”

上星期六（4月25日）晚上，艾伦持枪企图闯入在华盛顿希尔顿酒店举行的白宫记者协会晚宴，出席活动的特朗普、副总统万斯等政要紧急撤离，艾伦随后被制伏逮捕。他日前已被控被控企图刺杀总统特朗普等多项罪名。

调查人员公布了事发时的部分监控录像。在录像中，艾伦冲过酒店内的一处安检站，并将枪口对准一名特勤局特工，这名特工在艾伦跑出画面时向他开了数枪。

皮罗称，未来将公布更多视频，包括艾伦跑出画面后发生的情况。

美国联邦检察官皮罗（左二）星期天说，闯美国白宫记者晚宴的枪手，确实射中一名特勤局人员。 （路透社）

美国联邦检察官星期天说，调查人员已找到明确证据，指闯美国白宫记者晚宴的枪手，确实射中一名特勤局特工。

美国联邦检察官皮罗星期天（5月3日）接受美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）访问时说，调查人员现在可以明确指出，击中这名特工的子弹是来自枪手艾伦（Cole Tomas Allen，31岁）的枪火。“我们现已证实，被告所持的莫斯伯格泵动式霰弹枪发射的一颗铅弹，已嵌入这名特工防弹背心的纤维中。”

她补充说：“这绝对是他的子弹，他击中那名特勤局特工。他当时完全打算杀死他以及任何阻碍他刺杀美国总统的人。”

上星期六（4月25日）晚上，艾伦持枪企图闯入在华盛顿希尔顿酒店举行的白宫记者协会晚宴，出席活动的特朗普、副总统万斯等政要紧急撤离，艾伦随后被制伏逮捕。他日前已被控被控企图刺杀总统特朗普等多项罪名。

调查人员公布了事发时的部分监控录像。在录像中，艾伦冲过酒店内的一处安检站，并将枪口对准一名特勤局特工，这名特工在艾伦跑出画面时向他开了数枪。

皮罗称，未来将公布更多视频，包括艾伦跑出画面后发生的情况。

菲律宾左翼政党阿克巴扬党代表伊斯穆拉，与民间团体“这是我们的”志愿者一起前往铁线礁，在那里插上菲律宾国旗。 （取自菲民间团体“这是我们的”脸书）

（马尼拉综合讯）菲律宾民间船队展开例常运送补给任务之际，在南中国海有主权争议的南沙群岛铁线礁插上菲律宾国旗，宣示主权。

菲民间团体“这是我们的”（Atin Ito，英译“It’s Ours”）船队星期天（5月3日）清晨前往派格阿萨岛（中国称中业岛）执行第四次民间运送补给任务期间，登上铁线礁（Sandy Cay）插旗，并称此举是“和平且坚定地反对中国在西菲律宾海持续行动”。

菲律宾左翼政党阿克巴扬党代表伊斯穆拉带领的一支小队乘坐橡皮艇，与“这是我们的”志愿者一起前往铁线礁。

“这是我们的”团队称，他们成功绕过数艘在附近水域巡逻的中国船只。

伊斯穆拉说：“尽管中国势力强大，我们还是成功地在派格阿萨岛2号升起国旗。”

她说，这次行动是对非法入侵的和平但坚决的反抗。“我们的信息很明确：西菲律宾海（南中国海以西近菲律宾的大片海域）是属于我们的。任何恐吓都无法改变这个事实。”

菲军赞扬插旗行动 中方海警“查证处置”

最近，有报道称中国海警在派格阿萨岛附近水域活动频繁，菲律宾也持续展开巡逻，使这个地区的紧张局势再次升级。

菲律宾武装部队对“这是我们的”船队插旗举动表示赞扬，形容此举展现菲律宾人民不屈不挠的精神，有力地捍卫国家主权。

武装部队西菲律宾海发言人特立尼达说：“这次行动和平地在西菲律宾海宣示我们的存在，壮大渔民和在地社群的呼声。”

“这次行动也再一次印证一个真相：西菲律宾海不只是个战略海域，更是我们的国家文化和生计不可分割的一部分。”

中国官媒《环球时报》引述消息人士说，菲律宾五人船队星期天不顾中国警告劝阻，非法登上铁线礁活动，中国海警执法人员随后查证处置。报道未提供更多细节，包括这五名人员的身份、所属单位等。