In spite of the great number of Chinese vessels spotted in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) recently, Palawan and all other Philippine provinces remain untouched, noted Philippine Navy Spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad.
A total of 203 Chinese vessels were seen in Philippine territorial waters from August 20 to 26, the highest count this year.
“Hindi naman, sapagkat wala naman sa intensyon nila yan, ang intent naman ng Chinese Communist Party is sea control of the vast expanse of the South China Sea sapagkat ito ay critical sa kanilang flow of commerce and trade,” Trinidad stated when asked whether China would make a move to occupy Palawan.
He also said this may be why China has constructed military bases across the South China Sea. Moreover, 71 out of the 203 vessels were located in the Sabina Shoal.
Aside from the BRP Teresa Magbanua safeguard, the Navy and the Philippine Air Force (PAF) have been sticking to routine patrols in the area, aided by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic resources.
“We are here to show that (we) will not be deterred in performing our mandate. We challenge them, we tell them that they are within the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of the Philippines and pag hindi sila umalis (and if they don’t leave) we make the appropriate reports, nakaraming report na rin tayo sa kaukulang ahensya ng gobyerno (we have already filed many reports to concerned government agencies),” the Navy spokesperson assured.
