A ranking Philippine Navy official said the country’s defense posture in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has remained strong and intact despite China’s continued execution of its "grey zone" tactics.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, Navy spokesperson for the WPS, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the country’s armed forces remained resolved to defend “our sovereign rights in our territorial waters,” particularly in the key-occupied features in the WPS.
“We have always been there, hindi humina yung ating posture, yan ang stand ng ating gobyerno (our posture there did not weaken, that's the stand of our government) through the different instrumentalities in the maritime domain, including the Philippine Navy,” Trinidad said.
Trinidad highlighted the regular patrols and maritime missions conducted by the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the country’s military unit with jurisdiction over the WPS.
The navy official’s remarks came following the reported aggression of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessel against the Philippine Coast Guard last week.
The National Security Council (NSC) earlier lamented it was the “first time” a Chinese warship was involved in a direct confrontation with Philippine vessels as close as 300 yards in Scarborough Shoal in the WPS.
The NSC also expressed alarm over the developing incident in the WPS, calling it a “provocation” that escalates tension in the region.
Trinidad described China’s use of warships in the WPS as a “grey zone strategy.”
The navy official downplayed the need to react to China’s “illegal, coercive and deceptive actions” within the WPS.
He said the AFP will continue to perform its mandate to defend and protect the country’s territory, lamenting that China is not in control of the WPS.
Trinidad also noted that the military will continue to "utilize other means available to safeguard" the country's territorial integrity.
“As they said, the different instruments of national power, including diplomacy, political, informational, military, economic. So these must all be felt—the instruments of national power, a whole-of-government, and even a whole-of-society approach, even our countrymen can contribute to it,” he added.
China claims about 80 percent of the South China Sea (SCS), which encroaches on the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the WPS.
In July 2016, the Court ruled in favor of the Philippines and rejected China's nine-dash claim, covering almost the entire South China Sea.
The Chinese government, however, refuses to recognize the Court’s ruling.
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