MANILA – Filipino leader Ferdinand Marcos has again – in his usual rhetorical statements – vowed to defend the country’s territorial integrity and defend its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) amid reports that the Chinese increased its electronic communication jamming activities against Philippine vessels in the contested area.
Marcos
expressed his apprehension over the aggressive maneuvers of Chinese vessels in
the WPS, saying Beijing is now deploying its Navy ships to support the Chinese
Coast Guard vessels already deployed there.
“Nagbabago
ang sitwasyon, but – well, maliwanag naman para sa atin, we don’t really— we
just watch, of course, what everybody is doing, but really for us, patuloy pa
rin natin, we just defend our maritime territory,” he said.
“We
continue to support all of our fishermen, fisherfolks who make their living
from these fishing grounds at patuloy naman nating tutulungan sila. At despite
whatever else happens, bina-block tayo, kung ano, may shadow, eh patuloy pa rin
ang ating gagawin dahil ‘yan naman ang trabaho natin, trabaho natin tulungan
natin ‘yung mga fishers na matagal na, ilang henerasyon na doon nangingisda,”
he added.
Marcos’
statement came after Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS, Commodore Roy
Vincent Trinidad revealed the increase in cyber interference, electronic
interference and signal jamming “not only for equipment of the ship but also
for land-based communication equipment” of the Philippine Navy.
Marcos
stressed the Philippine government will not change its tune on the WPS issue. “So,
that’s essentially the issue there. So, that’s the basic principle there, is
that the fishers must be allowed to fish in their traditional fishing grounds,
which belong in the maritime territory of the Philippines,” he said.
He
said the Philippines will continue to upgrade the capabilities of the
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and pursue the modernization of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP).
“In
this regard, we are upgrading the capabilities of our Coast Guard and pursuing
the modernization of our Armed Forces and earlier this year, I approved the
updated acquisition plan of the Armed Forces of the Philippines called
Re-Horizon 3, in line with our Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept,”
Marcos stressed.
The
Philippine forces must be able to guarantee, to the fullest extent possible,
Filipinos, Philippine corporations, and those authorized by the Philippine
government, unimpeded and peaceful exploration and exploitation of all natural
resources in areas where we have jurisdiction, including within its exclusive
economic zone in accordance with international law, he said.
Philippine
agencies, security forces, and institutions are working to strengthen their
capabilities, Marcos said noting the country is on the frontline of
international efforts to preserve, defend, and uphold the rules-based
international order. And to address its differences with China, Marcos said the
Philippines will continue to engage with its giant neighbor bilaterally and
through ASEAN-led mechanisms.
He
said the country will also continue to adhere to the 2002 ASEAN-China
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and will remain
committed to working with ASEAN and China towards an effective and substantive
Code of Conduct based on the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, also called the Law of the Sea Convention or
the Law of the Sea Treaty - an international agreement that establishes a legal
framework for all marine and maritime activities.
Just recently, a pair of Chinese
vessels disguised as research ships, crossed undetected into the Philippine Sea
and loitered at Benham Rise, a seamount within the exclusive economic zone.
The breach was later discovered by Defense researcher and
former U.S. Air Force officer Ray Powell who publicized the presence of two
Chinese vessels - Haiyang Dizhi Shihao and
the Haiyang Dishi Liuhao, and
said that they had departed Guangzhou on February 26.
The Shihao has
a history of spending time in sensitive parts of the South China Sea. The
vessel was identified loitering in the Indonesian EEZ in 2021, in close
proximity to a working oil rig. (Mindanao Examiner)
