THE Armed Forces will be deploying additional Navy ships to conduct patrols at the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal following Chinese harassment of Filipino fishermen in the area.
“We’ll have more assets of our Navy circling the area,” said Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, the military’s spokesperson, during a TV interview, adding that since internal security threats are waning, the military can allocate more resources for external defense.
Internal security operations are aimed at local threats such as the communist New People’s Army and terrorist groups in Mindanao.
Padilla did not say how many more Navy ships will be sent to do patrols at the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal and the number of vessels currently tasked to patrol the area.
“We will ensure that Filipinos can freely enjoy our aquatic resources especially in this traditional fishing ground. So we are hoping the China Coast Guard will respect this,” said Padilla.
Scarborough Shoal is about 124 nautical miles from Zambales. The Chinese gained control of the shoal in 2012 after a standoff between Chinese and Philippine vessels.
Filipino fishermen continue to fish at the vicinity despite Chinese control of the shoal but they could not go inside shoal’s lagoon where there are more fish.
On January 12, a Chinese Coast Guard rubber boat with five men aboard approached Filipino fishermen gathering sea shells at the southern part of the shoal. A video of the incident was posted on social media a week after. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) conducted an investigation after seeing the video and gathered sworn statements from the Filipino fishermen.
On Monday, PCG spokesman for West Philippine Sea spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said the PCG is planning to increase its presence at the shoal.
Also, Tarriela said the PCG is working with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to maintain continuous Philippine government presence at the shoal.
The PCG has said there was also no PCG or BFAR vessel in the area at the time of the incident.
There was also no Philippine Navy vessel at the vicinity of the shoal during the incident, Padilla said.
Padilla encouraged Filipino fishermen to continue fishing at Scarborough Shoal despite Chinese harassment.
“This is part of our territorial waters. We have all the right to be fishing in these waters,” she said.
“We are telling our fishermen they can continue with their fishing in these territorial waters and the Armed Forces is committing its support for them,” she added.
AIRDROP
The Armed Forces airdropped supplies to troops at the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea, a senior military official said yesterday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said a Navy’s NV314 Islander aircraft dropped the supplies, good for one to two weeks, on Sunday morning.
The troops at Ayungin Shoal are staying at the BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting Navy ship that was grounded at the shoal in 1999 to serve as military outpost.
Chinese vessels have been harassing resupply missions.
The source said the AFP resorted to the airdrop mission because one of the supply boats they are using during regular rotation and resupply (RORE) at Ayungin Shoal was damaged during the last RORE mission on December 10.
The boat, Unaizah Mae 1, was damaged after it was subjected to dangerous maneuvers, water cannoning and ramming by a Chinese vessel. Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr was aboard the boat at that time.
Padilla earlier said they aborted the RORE mission due to technical difficultly with Unaizah Mae 1. She said the RORE mission will proceed once they determine the boat is seaworthy.
The source said the military had wanted the airdrop mission kept secret so “they (Chinese) won’t intercept it.”
But a video of the airdrop mission has spread online. Thus, the source agreed to disclose details of the mission, though on condition of anonymity.
“We didn’t want to reveal we have such an option so they won’t intercept it,” the source said, referring to the Chinese. He said the flight was cleared by the AFP chief.
The source said the supplies were dropped near the shoal and were collected by soldiers on rubber boats. “(It’s good for) one to two weeks,” he said.
Asked when the next RORE mission will take place, the source said, “It’s still being planned.”
Chinese vessels have harassed RORE missions at Ayungin Shoal in the past months, through dangerous maneuvers, laser-pointing, water cannoning and even ramming.