The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said that they will support the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and other Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies by practicing maximum tolerance to address the challenges from foreign forces in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

On Monday, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said that the armed forces are ready to support PCG’s maritime law enforcement operation, saying that they will professionally address challenges faced by foreign forces and will practice maximum tolerance.

Padilla pointed out that the military will stay committed to protecting the country’s people and territory, ensuring their mandate to fulfill their responsibilities by asserting the AFP’s presence in the WPS to protect sovereignty, sovereign rights, and national interests.

This comes after the PCG accused the China Coast Guard (CCG) of attempting to stop the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’s BRP Datu Sanday on Sunday.