PH Navy to continue WPS patrols but won't react to China aggression

The Philippine Navy on Wednesday said it would continue conducting patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) but vowed not react to the continuing aggressive actions of China, which has used its own navy in the area.

The statement comes on the heels of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s statement Tuesday that there was no need for warships to be deployed to the WPS after the China Coast Guard (CCG) fired a water cannon and rammed a civilian vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Bajo de Masinloc last week.

"Ang gumagawa naman nu'n is (Philippine Coast Guard) and BFAR supporting 'yung ating mga mangingisda. Nagbibigay ng ayuda," Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad told Dobol B TV in an interview.

(The Philippine Coast Guard and BFAR conduct those missions to support our fishermen. They provide aid.)

"Ang sinasabi ng ating Presidente, 'yung ganitong trabaho pang-Coast Guard ito, pang-BFAR ito. Hindi ibig sabihin umalis o wala sa eksena 'yung ating Navy or 'yung ating (Armed Forces of the Philippines)," he added.

(Our President was saying that this job is for the Coast Guard, this is for the BFAR. It does not mean that our Navy or our the Armed Forces of the Philippines have left or are not on the scene.)

Trinidad said it is not only the Philippine Navy but also the Philippine Air Force under the Western Command and Northern Luzon Command that have patrol plans for the WPS.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Trinidad said, will not react to China's aggressive actions.

"Just because nag-i-instigate ng iba't ibang paraan na tinatawag na wala sa libro o gray zone—which are actually illegal, coercive, and deceptive actions—'yung kabilang parte, doesn't mean na tayo ay mag-a-adjust o magre-react sa kanila," Trinidad said.

(Just because the other side is instigating various methods that are called gray zone—which are actually illegal, coercive, and deceptive actions—doesn't mean that we will adjust or react to them.)

To protect the integrity of the territory, he said, the Philippine government is also using different instruments including diplomacy.

Last Wednesday, a CCG vessel launched water cannon attacks and sideswiped BFAR vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya in the vicinity of the Bajo de Masinloc.

A People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship was also seen shadowing a PCG vessel as it made its way to the BRP Datu Pagbuaya.

The National Maritime Council (NMC) said the PLA Navy ships "participated in the blocking or aggressive movements of Chinese vessels."

Bajo de Masinloc, also called Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal, is located 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, and is considered within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

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