Nolcom chief cites need for 4 more radar stations

CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac, Philippines– The military unit overseeing the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal sees the need to build four new radar stations in northern Luzon to prevent intrusions and boost its territorial defense efforts.

Maj. Gen. Gregorio Catapang, chief of the Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command, said they are proposing the construction of littoral observation stations (LOS) in Batanes, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, and Aurora.

The littoral observation stations will allow naval forces to monitor vessels and maritime activities in Philippine waters. Such structures will enable security forces to act on threats like smuggling, terrorism, and human and drug trafficking.

“We are also proposing to put up LOS in four provinces. We are not only interested in the West Philippine Sea. We are also interested in the Pacific Ocean where we have several resources,” Catapang told reporters here.

The government has existing observation stations in Pangasinan and Zambales, where the Panatag Shoal is located. Catapang, however, admitted that the capabilities of these stations are “very limited.”

“The stations do not cover the entire area,” he said. “What we want is to have a system where the Navy can detect illegal entries from as far as Batanes and the West Philippine Sea.”

Catapang believes the new radar stations would prevent incidents similar to the intrusion of Chinese ships in Panatag Shoal last year and the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese poacher in Batanes last May.