ARMED Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr said the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has become a “unifying factor” for Filipinos on the need to defend the country’s territory.
He made the remarks on Saturday amid increasing tension between the Philippines and China in the WPS in the South China Sea, brought about by Chinese harassment in the area.
Today, Philippine troops are set to start a maritime exercise in Luzon, aimed at enhancing the Navy’s naval warfare capabilities, together with American troops.
The 12-day drill “Exercise Samasama” will involve 733 soldiers from the Philippine Navy and 632 from the US Navy. It will be held mainly in the area of operations of the Naval Forces Southern Luzon.
The Philippine Navy will be using its guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna for the exercise while the Americans will use their guided missile destroyer USS Dewey and dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra.
Japan, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, France will take part in subject-matter expert exchanges, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response table-top events.
New Zealand and Indonesia will join as observers.
The United Kingdom, Canada and Japan have dedicated to the exercise the offshore patrol vessel HMS Spey, frigate HMCS Vancouver, and destroyer JS Akebono, respectively.
“The exercise activities were designed to further enhance the PN’s naval warfare capabilities as the country’s offshore combat force for maritime security operations,” Lt. Col. Enrico Gil Ileto, chief of the AFP Public Affairs Office, earlier said of the exercise.
He also said the exercise activities will cover fundamentals on anti-marine warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare and electronic warfare.
Navy chief Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr is set to preside over the opening ceremony this afternoon at the Navy headquarters in Manila.
Brawner, after the celebration of the 44th National Reservist Week last Saturday, said, “The issue that we are seeing now in the West Philippine Sea, this is a unifying factor for Filipinos.”
“Because of that issue, we are united. As Filipinos, we have to defend our nation because we only have one country and all of us have a stake at the security of our country,” he told reporters.
In the past months, Chinese vessels conducted dangerous maneuvers and shadowed Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels and military-chartered indigenous boats doing resupply mission at the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal. Last month, the Chinese also installed floating barriers at Scarborough Shoal. PCG personnel cut the floating barrier on the order of President Marcos Jr.
Brawner said external defense and territorial defense should be addressed by all Filipinos.
Noting the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Brawner said Ukrainian citizens — women, youth and even the elderly — are defending their country from the Russians.
“They are helping each other in defending their country and that is what we want to attain also in our country. The process may take time but we have to start now. We have to develop that recognition, that appreciation of national defense in our country,” said Brawner.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr, in the same event, said the defense and military establishments are in the period of “rethinking what we are, what we should be and what we are doing.”
Teodoro said this will be done “based on a calibration of what we feel the country needs to firm its credible deterrent posture and our ability to protect our interests not only on the ground but particularly in the maritime domain and the aerial domain.”
“In so doing, as I told the staff, we have to rethink our reservist paradigms and we are in the process of redesigning a reserve force based on the needs of the times and not based on old, dated paradigms or plans that may not be valuable anymore.”
Brawner said the military remains committed to a plan to tap fishermen to become reservists and help in the monitoring of Chinese activities in the WPS.
“It does not mean that when they are at sea, conducting fishing activities, they have to fight. No. That is not the concept but they can help us in terms of gathering information and making sure that we have presence in those areas,” said Brawner.
Brawner said the fishermen’s presence in the WPS will also strengthen the government’s position that the WPS belongs to the Philippines.
