ARMED Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr yesterday said the military will further improve its facilities at Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea this year.
In a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo after a command conference, Brawner said these improvements will be pursued using funds from the General Appropriations Act of 2024 and Horizon 3 of the AFP Modernization Program.
Brawner said the AFP Modernization Program’s Horizon 3 is yet to be approved by the President, saying the military is still “in the process of refining it further.”
“But the Horizon 3 of our modernization program will focus on the archipelagic defense concept. If that is our basis, it means we will focus on acquiring more ships, more aircraft, radars and we will also focus on developing the islands and the other features that we are occupying, for instance Pag-asa, Lawak and other features that we are occupying,” said Brawner.
Brawner later said the military will improve the facilities of the military at all the Philippine-occupied features — Kota, Lawak, Likas, Panata, Parola, and Patag islands; Rizal Reef; and Ayungin Shoal.
“We are trying to improve all. Yes, all, especially the islands we are occupying. The development of our facilities is actually continuing,” said Brawner.
Brawner could not say how much has been allocated to improve the military facilities in the West Philippine Sea.
“I don’t know the specifics but again, yearly, there are funds incorporated for the repair and maintenance of military facilities,” said Brawner.
‘MORE LIVABLE’
On the possible opposition of China, Brawner said: “We are emphasizing that the improvement of our facilities is part of the responsibility, part of the obligation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to take care of our soldiers.”
Brawner said the improvement of these facilities is nothing new, noting that similar efforts were undertaken in the past years.
“We are just trying to make them more livable, more habitable for our soldiers,” he said, adding the military is also providing additional equipment to soldiers assigned in these features like desalination machines, communication systems, and even rest and recreation equipment.
Brawner said the military is not “fortifying” the BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine Navy vessel which was grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as military outpost.
“What we are actually trying to do is that we are making these features more habitable for our troops because we have troops there,” he said.
Brawner said the military briefed President Marcos Jr, who presided over the command conference, of the military structures in the West Philippine Sea.
“We have cement structures, living quarters there but they are small but (further constructions are needed) just to make them livable and habitable because our soldiers in these features are living in a difficult situation,” said Brawner.
Brawner said he personally witnessed the harsh conditions that the soldiers are in when he went to visit BRP Sierra Madre last month.
“The same is true with the other features. We only have very small facilities that we need to really improve on so that our soldiers… would be able to survive the harsh conditions that they face out there in the West Philippine Sea,” said Brawner.
STRATEGY
President Marcos Jr ordered the Armed Forces to reconfigure its strategy in addressing various threats, including in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
Marcos issued the order during the command conference which was attended by Brawner Jr and other military commanders.
“He said that we needed to reconfigure our approaches to dealing with the different threat groups,” Brawner said when asked for the guidance of the President, the military’s commander-in-chief.
“We need to deal with the communist terrorist groups, the local terrorist groups, the threats that we are facing in the West Philippine Sea and of course the natural disasters,” said Brawner.
Chinese vessels have harassed Philippine resupply missions to the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in the past months, subjecting Philippine Coast Guard vessels and military-chartered supply boats to dangerous maneuvers, laser-pointing, water cannoning and ramming.
“The President said that we have to think of new ways of dealing with them, innovative ways, that is why we really have to really make sure that we study all of these things very carefully so that we come up with the necessary solutions,” Brawner.
“He also mentioned that when dealing with these threats, it is not enough that we deal it by ourselves. We need the help of the public, invoking the whole of nation approach,” he said.
The President also asked the Armed Forces to gain the support of like-minded allies and partners to addressing these threats. Brawner said the President his pronouncement to have a paradigm shift in addressing issues in the West Philippine Sea.
“But the President did not deal with the specifics because he also mentioned that he doesn’t want to micromanage. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and our commanders on the ground will have to be very innovative, imaginative in our approaches,” he .
Brawner said the President did not say something is wrong with the current strategy of the Armed Forces.
“What he meant was that we have to reconfigure in order to be more effective in addressing the threats,” said Brawner.
COMPLAINT
The Department of Justice said a draft complaint against China for environmental damage wrought by its fishermen and vessels in the West Philippine Sea will be ready by the end of January or next month.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said the department is still studying inputs provided by legal and maritime experts on the issue.
Last month, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the Philippines will seek an unspecified amount from China not only for the damage it wrought on the marine environment but also its blocking and water cannoning of Filipino vessels conducting resupply missions in the WPS.
Guevarra said this will be included in the legal case being mulled by the government to be filed before an international tribunal. He said the blocking and water cannoning incidents last year in Ayungin and Scarborough will bolster Manila’s case against Beijing.
Guevarra and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla have said they were reviewing legal options available to the country against China, adding that once the review is done, they will make a recommendation to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Malacañang.
Last year, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay called on the Marcos administration to initiate the filing of a case against China before an international tribunal.
In 2019, the late Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales filed a case for crimes against humanity with the International Criminal Court against Chinese officials led by Chinese President Xi Jinping due to illegal fishing and poaching activities of Chinese vessels in the WPS.
However, the ICC dismissed the complaint, saying it cannot be acted upon as Beijing is not a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. — With Ashzel Hachero
