CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A top military official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) described China’s actions within the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines as “bordering on aggression.”

Brig. General Michele Anayron, Jr., commander of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) of the Philippine Army, here, made the declaration, Tuesday, 8 April, during the inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremony of 4ID’s Internet Broadcasting Studio, at the Division Public Affairs Office, even as he revealed speculations that China could have been planning its moves against the Philippines 50 to 60 years ago.

According to Anayron, additional thrust is given to the military, particularly the 4th ID area of operation and neighboring areas. “We are given an internal security task, and at the same time external security operations task to preserve the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country,” Anayron said.

He also added that this is the reason why government officials’ statements nowadays are mostly about sovereignty. “It is our duty to defend the country’s sovereignty, and one of the thrusts is information (dissemination) toward the populace, because of varied opinions when it comes to territorial defense, when it comes to aggressive actions of China.”

“We are not solid yet as one voice.” Hence, “4ID ventures into information campaign to let the people know and realize the real picture when it comes to defense of our territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea (WPS),” he said.

“There are already active actions, infiltrations, basically, on all our institutions,” Anayron added.

Unified action

“It is for all of us to be concerned. This is not low and light kind of threat, we all need to be involved, need to support a unified action,” Anayron said in the Visayan vernacular.

“Somehow, we have been infiltrated by foreign actions and their narrative is what we adopt. They manage to persuade our countrymen from adopting their narrative, because they have already infiltrated, and China has been very deliberate,” he declared.

“For the past years, there had been sisterhood agreements with China. We are not saying sisterhoods are bad, but we must be vigilant, that our sovereignty is not compromised,” he added.

He liken China’s actions to the following military strategy: Planning stage, pre-deployment stage, and execution stage, and that China’s action is already “bordering on aggression.”

In military perspective, “this (China’s action) is no longer planning and pre-deployment stages,” he said.

“Before the country was invaded by Japan during World War II (WWII), there were proliferations of Japanese fishermen. They also put up business ventures in the Philippines,” Anayron said.

“When we were invaded, they just put on their Japanese Imperial Army uniforms. They were all over the country, in Davao and elsewhere, all ready when WWII broke. These are what we want the public to be aware of and be cautious,” he explained.

Anayron said it is sad to note that some people talk against counter-China actions without knowing fully-well what this will bring about to the country and its sovereignty.

Trust us

He urged people to trust the military on this, “because we already have plenty of information, plenty of intelligence that say otherwise. The statements of our Defense Secretary and top government officials did not come easily, but are due to built-up information that have been gathered by the military and other intelligence units."

Anayron said the issue has been politicized, and have come between the administration and the opposition, blurring the real picture. The truth is, like the "Grey Zone," infiltration comes through economic and cultural, among others.

“Filipinos are not yet solid as one voice and one direction with regards issues on WPS. As patriots, we must get involved, and support the stand of our government,” he concluded.