PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The entire air and navy assets of the nation's military stands ready to support the Western Command in Palawan, adhering to the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, which aims to address external security challenges, particularly amid heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, chief of the Western Command (Wescom), said on Tuesday during a press conference in Puerto Princesa, held in conjunction with the commemoration of their 48th Founding Anniversary, that all assets within the inventory of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are at his disposal, contingent upon his defense operational planning.

His statement came amidst inquiries regarding Wescom's reaction to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez's proposal for an enhanced presence of Philippine Air Force (PAF) fighter jets in Palawan, prompted by developments in the West Philippine Sea.

"All options—all assets in the inventory of the AFP are available to me as I do my defense operational planning, but I cannot discuss that in public—what vessel or what aircraft. But all are available for deployment here in WPS," Carlos assured.

Carlos reiterated that all available aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and vessels of the Philippine Navy (PN) are at his disposal. However, they need to synchronize this with the new defense concept.

The CADC was recently introduced under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s administration, employing a comprehensive governmental strategy to address the maritime conflict with China.

"We will simply align this with the new defense concept, and if it necessitates the deployment of aircraft, then we will deploy them," he added.

"I cannot discuss changes for operational security matters, but rest assured that Wescom is really excited to operationalize this in WPS since it is one of those signs that we are really shifting to external defense. So, we welcome that concept, we are excited to operationalize" Carlos said.

Lt. Gen. Charlton Gaerlan, deputy chief of staff of the AFP, underscored the importance of asset availability and deployment in fulfilling the mandate of national defense, emphasizing that they serve no other purpose.

Furthermore, he explained that a crucial objective of implementing the CADC is to ensure the availability of AFP assets in areas where they are needed.

"In the case of Wescom, whatever they need, the AFP will provide, and if there are still shortages, those will be procured. That's what the new concept means: whatever is needed will be provided, and any deficiencies will be addressed," he said.

Meanwhile, former AFP Chief of Staff and current Presidential Adviser on Maritime Affairs Andres Centino, added that the implementation of the CADC will include the deployment scheme for AFP troops and assets.

Centino explained that this aims to enable the AFP to ensure the security of all entities that stand to benefit from the marine resources within the territorial jurisdiction of the country.

"To enable the armed forces to protect Filipino nationals, companies, and even those permitted by the government to benefit from the marine resources of our maritime domain," he said.

He said the CADC will guarantee that both current and future generations of Filipinos can freely harvest and appreciate the natural resources rightfully belonging to their domain.