Noy orders troops in West Phl Sea to remain vigilant

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino ordered troops in the West Philippine Sea yesterday to remain vigilant and to continue securing the country’s maritime and territorial interests.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said the directive was issued even in the absence of fresh reports of intrusions by foreign vessels into Philippine territory.

“We will have to maintain our presence in the area. We have to secure our exclusive economic zone and enforce the appropriate environmental and maritime laws,” Oban said when asked about the President’s instructions to troops in the West Philippine Sea.

Oban said the absence of new intrusions does not mean that the threat level in the West Philippine Sea has lessened.

“We maintain vigilance in all fronts,” the AFP chief said. “We just have to continue performing our mandate and in terms of level of threat, lately we have not received any additional intrusion. That means we’re doing good in terms of our presence.”

The President presided over a command conference yesterday at the military’s general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. The conference was intended to update the President about the security situation and the military’s accomplishments in the first six months of the year.

Oban said they briefed the President about the upgrades being undertaken to boost their capability in securing the Philippines’ maritime borders. He said these include the plan to set up a coast watch system that would monitor the movements of vessels in waters off Palawan.

The military is also not disturbed even if China did not give any assurance that it would no longer intrude into Philippine territory.

“Whether there is such statement or not, our mandate is to patrol our exclusive economic zone and whether there is a threat or not, we have to enforce maritime and environmental laws,” Oban said.

Oban clarified that the effort to upgrade their external defense capabilities does not mean that they would give less emphasis on internal security. He said the implementation of the internal security plan Bayanihan remains on track and is posting gains in promoting peace.

The Philippines and China, as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan, claim either partly or the entire Spratly Islands, which is located in the West Philippine Sea.

The island group, which is said to be rich in mineral resources, has been the subject of a territorial dispute in the region.

The Philippine government has accused China of intruding into its territory at least seven times this year. China has belied the allegations and maintained that its claim in the area is “indisputable.”

It also accused the Philippines of issuing “irresponsible” statements that damage its sovereignty.

Last March, two Chinese ships reportedly bullied a civilian vessel commissioned by the Philippine energy department while conducting an oil exploration survey at the Recto Bank near Palawan.

The Philippine government said Recto Bank is well within Philippine territory and is not among the disputed areas.

The Philippine foreign affairs department also claimed that a Chinese marine surveillance vessel and other People’s Liberation Army Navy ships were sighted in the vicinity of Iroquois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank in the West Philippine Sea last May.

The ships allegedly unloaded building materials, erected an undetermined number of posts and placed a buoy near the breaker of the Iroquois Bank.

The Iroquois Bank is located southwest of the Recto Bank and east of Patag Island (Flat Island) and is within the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone.

Last month, the Navy removed a “foreign marker” in Boxall Reef, which is about 125 nautical miles from the shorelines of Palawan. However, there were no markings that would indicate that the marker came from China.

Also last month, an unidentified aircraft buzzed over a group of fishermen in Dalagang Bukid Shoal, which is located about 130 miles from Balabac Island in Palawan.