US coastal watch to enhance Phl territorial defense

MANILA, Philippines - The plan of the US government to assist the Philippines in monitoring its vast coastline will enhance ongoing efforts of the military to shift from internal to territorial defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday.

While US help is still in an initial stage, this development is timely as the military is currently beefing up its defense capability, particularly in bolstering its maritime surveillance and monitoring capabilities, AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said.

“The assistance being offered by the US government will contribute to the enhancement and strengthening of our capabilities in monitoring and protecting our abundant natural and marine resources from exploitation, and in safeguarding and preserving our environment,” Burgos said.

On Tuesday, the US military said it planned to help the Philippines monitor its coastal waters while Manila is locked in a territorial dispute with China over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal for two months now.

Tension mounted in Panatag Shoal, located 124 nautical miles from Zambales and more than 500 kilometers from China’s coastline in Hainan, when two Chinese ships prevented the Philippine Navy’s flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar from arresting Chinese fishermen for illegally harvesting endangered marine species in the shoal.

To deescalate tension, the Del Pilar was pulled and replaced by a Philippine Coast Guard vessel.

“We are in the initial planning stages of assisting the Philippines with a National Coast Watch Center,” Maj. Catherine Wilkinson of the US military said, as quoted in a wire report.