THE successive aggressions in the disputed West Philippine Sea has compelled the government to seriously consider the idea of dispatching its aerial assets in what appears to be an effort to match China’s deployment of its aircrafts.
According to Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, an intensified air and naval patrols are underway in Escoda Shoal in support of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua which recently sustained damages after being rammed thrice by Chinese Coast Guard vessels days after it figured in similar incidents inside the 200-nautical mile Philippine exclusive economic zone.
Roy said that the move will somehow reciprocate the increased presence of Chinese ships and aircrafts hovering the West Philippine Sea. He however clarified that a stepped-up patrol does not necessarily involve deploying more assets to the area.
“She’s alone (Teresa Magbanua). We’re watching over the area because of reports on piled-up crushed corals. We want to make sure it’s not man-made, so that’s why we’re there,” Trinidad said in a radio interview.
“So far the Coast Guard is there. The Navy and the Air Force have increased their patrols – by air and sea,” he added.
“It could be done by one ship, this could be done by an aircraft, this could be done by fishermen reporting to us, so it’s not about who has a bigger number of ships in Sabina or Escoda,” he continued.
Based on the government’s latest bulletin, three China Coast Guard (CCG) ships, two People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels, 47 maritime militia, one hospital and research vessels are loitering near the Escoda Shoal.
“We have made the necessary approaches to China in terms of contacting them through various means to express our complaint and displeasure at what happened. And not only that, our concern about raising tensions over what was basically just innocent movement by a Philippine vessel,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told Palace reporters.
“They (China) have accused us, as usual, of doing this and that, but obviously it was just their doing… We were just moving, and we were surprised by this incident,” he lamented. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
