Over 100 Navy reservists up for deployment after ending training

A total of 119 Navy reservists are set to be deployed as force multipliers to boost maritime security in Northern Luzon after they completed their training, the Philippine Navy said.

The reservists underwent basic military training including rifle and combat training, according to Chino Gaston's report on Unang Balita on Monday.

"In compliance with the order ng [Secretary of National Defense] natin na kailangan ma-upgrade o ma-intensify 'yung defense posture natin sa Norte. 'Yung pagte-train natin ng mga reservist is part ng compliance ng ating Philippine Navy," Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command public information chief Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo Lutao said.

(In compliance with the order of our Secretary of National Defense, our defense posture in the north needs to be upgraded. The training of reservists is part of the compliance of our Philippine Navy.)

"Huwag naman sana mangyari, halimbawa lang magka-giyera, wala tayong makukuhang pool of soldiers na ready to fight,” Lutao added.

(I hope it doesn't happen, but just for example there is a war, we don't have a pool of soldiers who are ready to fight.)

Security analyst Professor Renato de Castro noted that the Philippines has an external threat with "a very expansive and coercive power up there" with the largest Navy in the world.

"To deepen our country's defense depth, thus enhancing of course the defense of our archipelagic territory. This is of course in line with the realization that number 1 we have an external threat in the form of a very expensive and coercive power up there that happens to have the largest navy in the world,” he said.

In a press conference, Senator Risa Hontiveros reiterated her opposition to the bill seeking to make Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory amid the increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea.

For her, the Senate should continue ensuring proper support for the AFP, especially to the Philippine Navy, instead of passing the proposed legislation.

"Tingin ko habang umiinit sa West Philippine Sea, ang pinakatamang course of action namin bilang Senado ay ipagpatuloy at judiciously dagdagan ang suporta sa military modernization lalo na sa Philippine Navy at pagsasaayos ng iba't iba pang aspeto ng national defense, at 'di gawing excuse 'yan. Ang isang tingin ko hindi tamang policy direction na gawing mandatory ang ROTC sa mga mamamayan natin na hindi naman 'yon ang paraan nila para magsilbi kay Inang bayan," she said.

(While the tension in the West Philippine Sea is increasing, I think the best course of action of the Senate is to continue and judiciously give support to military modernization, especially to the Philippine Navy, and fix all other aspects of our national defense. We should not use this as an excuse for what I think is a wrong policy direction to make ROTC mandatory to our citizens especially to those who don't want this to be their means of serving the motherland.)

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently called on their armed forces to coordinate preparations for military conflicts at sea, protect its maritime rights and interests and the development of the maritime economy.

Xi made the orders during China's annual parliament meeting with the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and Armed Police Force.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier said his department and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have already launched the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).

"In plain language, we are developing our capability to protect and secure our entire territory and EEZ in order to ensure that our people and all the generations of Filipinos to come shall freely reap and enjoy the bounties of the natural resources that are rightfully ours within our domain," he said.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have heightened in recent months as both sides trade accusations over a series of incidents in the West Philippine Sea (WPS)

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Parts of the waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone have been renamed as West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, a decision Beijing has rejected. —Joviland Rita/KBK/AOL, GMA Integrated News