AFP reports PH's ‘dramatic increase’ in WPS activities

There has been a dramatic increase in the activities of Philippine forces in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), according to the Philippine Navy on Tuesday.

In a press briefing, Philippine Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the military strengthened its efforts in WPS after Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. ordered the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).

“I would say majority if not all of the strategic assets of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Air Force are now geared towards protecting, securing, and monitoring all the way up to our Exclusive Economic Zone. That includes the WPS,” Trinidad said.

“So yes, there has been a dramatic increase in our activities in the West Philippine Sea after the pronouncement of the [Secretary of Defense],” he added.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said that from October 1 to 18, a total of patrol missions were conducted in the WPS.

“These operations include two sealift missions, 14 maritime or sovereignty patrols, one maritime surveillance patrol, one medical evacuation, and two rotation and resupply missions done by naval ships.

Naval and air force aircraft also conducted four maritime air surveillance as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations, along with 40 maritime patrols.

“These patrols strengthen our monitoring of activities in the West Philippine Sea while ensuring seamless support for operations like maritime domain awareness, medical evacuation, and resupply missions” Padilla said.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines stands resolute in its mandate to uphold territorial integrity, maritime sovereignty, and regional stability while serving and protecting the interests of all Filipinos,” she added.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea— a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce— including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, 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.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News