PH military patrols in WPS continue as Chinese presence still seen as 'threat'

The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said the presence of Chinese vessels remains a threat after the military conducted 54 activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) this November.

In a press briefing, Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad was asked if there were concerning Chinese actions during the military's activities in the area.

"The presence of the maritime militia, the [People's Liberation Army Navy], and the Coast Guard, which has been there for quite some time, is a continuing threat," Trinidad said.

"We have monitored them. We are tracking them. They are an existential threat," he added.

Despite China's presence, Trinidad said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will keep performing its mandate in protecting the WPS.

AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said that from Nov. 1 to 25, the Philippine Navy and Air Force conducted 54 "successful" patrol missions.

"These operations include three sealift missions, 13 maritime patrols or sovereignty patrols or the MARPAT or SOVPAT, one maritime surveillance patrol or MARSUVPAT, and one search and rescue operation, and one rotation and resupply mission to our naval vessels," Padilla said.

"Meanwhile, our Naval and Air Force aircraft executed four maritime air surveillance or intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance operations along with 30 maritime patrols, and one search and rescue operation," she added.

Last month, the Philippine Navy reported a "dramatic increase" in activities of Philippine forces in the West Philippine Sea after Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. announced the launch of the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).

"In plain language, we are developing our capability to protect and secure our entire territory and EEZ (exclusive economic zone) 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," Teodoro earlier said.

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. — VDV, GMA Integrated News