Interference in Phl vessels’ electronic comms while on WPS mission increased—Navy spox

There’s an increased interference in the electronic communication capabilities of the Philippine Navy when conducting rotational and resupply missions or any maritime operation in the West Philippine Sea.

This was confirmed by Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, in a press conference on Tuesday.

“When it comes to interference on our electronic capabilities. I have discussed this with the commander of naval forces west this morning and it has been going on for the past three or four years, maybe even earlier,” Trinidad told reporters when asked if the Armed Forces of the Philippines is adept at a similar cyber tracking interference being experienced by the Philippine Coast Guard.

He, however, clarified that the AFP has yet to identify the culprits behind the electronic communication interference.

Trinidad also noted that China’s aggressive activities in the WPS “have been going on for quite some time now.”

Over the weekend, Commodore Jay Tarriela, the PCG spokesperson for the WPS, said its Chinese counterpart was jamming the signal of the tracking system of Philippine ships at certain times during recent operations in the disputed area.

Tarriela said the Chinese Coast Guard’s interference briefly prevented the Philippine vessels from broadcasting their positions at sea and “there were instances” that these vessels could not transmit their automatic identification signals or AIS—being used to pinpoint the location and other navigational statistics of ships radio. It also displays other vessels within the vicinity.

He added the PCG observed jamming during its rotational deployments with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) this month.

“We assume that they do the jamming every time they release their statements that they repelled our vessels,” Tarriela said.

Not mentioning China, Trinidad confirmed that cyber interference on AFP and the Philippine Navy "does exist."

“It has been going on for the past three or four years, maybe even earlier. They have noted an increase in cyber interference, electronic interference, jamming, and stuff like that—not only for equipment of the ship but also for land-based communication equipment,” he said.

“This usually happens or is noted, during preparation stages for RORE missions. So yes there have been observed activities to interfere with our internal equipment,” he continued.

Trinidad, however, noted that such unidentified cyber interference has “minimal effects” on the Philippine vessels only and “does not even delay” the entire maritime operations.

“Because the interference on the electronic equipment did not reach a stage that they will interfere with the navigation, these are more on the communications on land, cell phones…But on the overall impact on the operation, they do not really cause a significant impact,” he emphasized.

Trinidad said the foreign vessels are working more on “deliberately attempting to prevent” Philippine vessels “from communicating on ship-to-ship or on land.”

“It’s not on the AIS, it’s on the communications on the ships and land communication,” he pointed out. “Not only for our communication aboard ship or on land but also cell phones.”

Trinidad assured that the AFP and the Philippine Navy have been executing safe and secure communication protocols amid the interference.

“Not only for the RORE missions, so it is safe to assume that there will be possible actions on any other interested party to shall we say eavesdrop or to monitor our communications, hence, the need for appropriate communication protocols, which we all observe,” he said.

“The moment you notice some interventions or interruptions, there are protocols on how to address that, so rest assured that we have been addressing these issues, but we have noted them for the past good number of years,” he added.