Amid the persisting tensions between the Philippines and Chinese maritime operatives in the West Philippines Sea, making China declare a mere threat to arrest non-Chinese fishermen who will interfere in their 'self-declared boundaries', the country's close allies, the United States and Japan vowed to cooperate with the Philippines to maintain a free and safe WPS.

During the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue: 21st Asia Security Summit in Singapore from 31 May to 02 June 2024, PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, recommended to the JCG and USCG to develop new ways to address the forthcoming threat in the high seas, particularly China's declaration to apprehend non-Chinese fishermen who will violate their "self-declared boundaries."

"The PCG intends to send ships further out, in coordination with other agencies, to secure our Filipino fishermen better," CG Admiral Gavan said.

"I'd like to propose greater deployment in the high seas. We will do our part, but we also need you to be there to maintain rules-based order the way Coast Guards should play their role," the Coast Guard Commandant added.

Gavan maintained that the PCG knows its limits, "but we know we can do something to give time for our political leaders to do their part to keep the West Philippine Sea as free as it should be."

Last 18 April, China declared that its so-called districts of "Nansha" and "Xisha" will have authority over the Spratlys and the Paracels, respectively, under the authority of the local government in Sansha, a city on the southern island of Hainan.