Teodoro: DND to project military presence in WPS extended continental shelf

The Department of National Defense (DND) on Wednesday said it aims to project the armed forces up to the extended continental shelf in the West Philippines Sea (WPS).

In a statement, the DND said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s guidance during his third State of the Nation Address aligned with the department’s Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).

“Through the CADC, the DND aims to broaden the strategic depth of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to project the country’s forces within the country’s legal boundaries, up to the furthest limits of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone and extended continental shelf, notably in the WPS,” it said.

Marcos in his SONA speech said “the Philippines cannot yield and cannot waver” pertaining to the WPS issue.

“We are now more conscious as a people, and strategic in heightening our aerial and maritime domain awareness,” Marcos said.

“We are continuing to strengthen our defense posture, both through developing self-reliance and through partnerships with like-minded states,” he added.

In March, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the Philippines launched CADC to develop its capability in protecting and securing the country's territory and EEZ.

 “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.

“I emphasize that this is a strategic action and will not need constant directives to carry out. I, thus, urge our commanders and units in the AFP to exert all efforts to operationalize the CADC,” Teodoro added.

Tensions continue amid China’s massive claim in the South China Sea (SCS) including the portion the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

The SCS is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has not recognized the decision. —RF, GMA Integrated News