UNFAZED by China’s recent deployment of an aircraft carrier in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea, the Philippine Navy yesterday said the Chinese remain far from becoming proficient in the operation of such naval assets.
“Marami pa silang kakaining bigas (They will need to eat a lot more rice),” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, told a radio interview, using an expression of the elder generation that means one still has a lot to learn.
Trinidad was referring to the work that China still needs to do to reach proficiency in the operation of aircraft carriers.
China’s aircraft carrier Shandong was monitored late last month in Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal, about 124 nautical miles from Zambales.
China gained control of the shoal in 2012 after a standoff with Philippine government vessels. Since then, the Chinese have prevented Filipinos from fishing inside the shoal’s lagoon.
More than a week ago, the aircraft carrier, along with two other Chinese warships, conducted naval drills with Russian warships in the Philippine Sea, or in the eastern side of the country. The aircraft carrier passed close to the northern Philippines, specifically Balintang Channel, on the way to the Philippine Sea for the military exercise.
Noting China’s warfare strategy, Trinidad said: “Their doctrine, number one, is when you are strong, show you are weak. Number two, if you are weak, show you are strong, make a noise.”
“What they are doing with Shandong and in the entire South China Sea, West Philippine Sea, is they are making a noise, they are showing they are strong. But the truth is when it comes to aircraft carrier (operation), they still need a decade to perfect the naval warfare on the use of aircraft carrier,” he said.
Trinidad military superpower United States has been into aircraft carrier operation for seven or eight decades now but “every now and then, they still encounter problems.”
“The PLA (People’s Liberation Army of China) Navy has yet to test it (aircraft carrier) in war but they act as if they are really (experts)… While they are more advanced (militarily) than us, their aircraft carriers are still far from (ideal) operational level,” he said.
On the Philippine Navy’s acquisition of submarines, Trinidad said the procurement of military assets, under the AFP modernization program, is being discussed at the level of the Department of National Defense.
“Included there is the undersea warfare, and submarines are components of undersea warfare. That is being discussed thoroughly at the DND as of now,” said Trinidad.
Meanwhile, Trinidad said he supports the call of some sectors to file an additional case against China before the United Nations. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration dismissed China’s excessive claim in the South China Sea and acknowledged Philippines’ rights to its 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone.
There have been suggestions for the government to lodge a complaint against China’s aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea. Chinese vessels have harassed Philippine government and civilian boats in the West Philippine Sea in the past months, through dangerous maneuvers, water cannoning and even ramming.
“Some are asking the government to file a new petition before the UN regarding the continuing harassment by China, by the communist party of China, and this is being considered by the government. China is saying don’t (file), let us talk. To me, we should file because they (Chinese) are afraid of it. If we are going to file they are going to be embarrassed,” he said.
Trinidad said the Chinese want the dispute to be discussed through negotiations.
“Talks will lead to nowhere because it’s designed to prolong the fight, though in a different arena,” he said.
