Philippines' next resupply missions may have more, bigger ships

The next resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea may include more and bigger ships, the Philippine Coast Guard has said.

PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela said they will continue to be vigilant even after the successful resupply of the BRP Sierra Madre on Tuesday.

According to Chino Gaston's report on "24 Oras," the transportation of construction materials to repair the rundown Navy ship aground in the Ayungin Shoal remains a challenge.

"We can say we were successful in carrying out the resupply mission this time. It doesn't mean the succeeding resupply missions, we're going to be more relaxed," Tarriela said.

"We're still going to be vigilant," he added.

China has previously insisted that the BRP Sierra Madre should be removed from Ayungin, and it threatened to block the transportation of any large-scale building materials.

Despite this, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said it is time to build a permanent structure on the reef to use the marine resources and oil within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

"We have an obligation to be there, we hold the sovereign rights over the area, no other country can set up permanent structures, tayo lang. Because pag sinabi mong sovereign rights, you can exploit the natural resources. How can you do so kung walang permanent structures,” said NTF-WPS spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.

He cleared that even though a United States surveillance aircraft was seen in Ayungin Shoal last August 22, the US and other countries had no role in the resupply mission.

"Maybe the United States is conducting a reconnaissance, trying to find out kung ano ang nangyayari precisely because we are a mutual defense with an ally. To say this was a mission that was done with the support of the US, I think this is purely a Philippine resupply mission," Malaya added.

Meanwhile, the Solicitor General's office is now studying the legal and diplomatic measures related to China's blockade and the possibility of filing an appeal to the United Nations General Assembly. —NB, GMA Integrated News