The Mavulis Project handover ceremony was led by the AFP-Nolcom with Undersecretary Ricardo David Jr. of the Department of National Defense as guest of honor and speaker.
Mavulis, (also called Y’ami Island in textbooks) is the northernmost Batanes island, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Taiwan. It is uninhabited, but frequently visited by local fishers, most of whom are from Itbayat town.
Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, former Nolcom spokesman, said the Mavulis Project would increase the presence of local fishers in the region, contributing to the protection of the Philippine marine resources and enhancing information gathering around the northern maritime area.
“The structure will serve as a multipurpose shelter for locals fishing in the vicinity and double up as shelter for troops visiting the island to guard our maritime domain in that isolated area during the poaching season,” he stressed.
The Mavulis Project was launched in March 2018 for the construction of building facilities, which were reportedly a Marines base to boost defense arrangements and discourage poachers from its fishing grounds.
Before the project, Nolcom officials reportedly said their presence was needed, thus the building work on Mavulis Island, and while the island was uninhabited, they were building a facility to guard the Philippine maritime domain against poaching during the fishing period.
Both the Philippine and Taiwan coast guard ships have confronted each other in the rich fishing waters in the Mavulis area where their exclusive economic zones overlap, and even nearly cut ties in 2013 after a Philippine vessel fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing a fisher.
Both countries also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), along with Brunei, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, that more than 20 years ago, Philippine defense officials said Taiwan proposed leasing the island as a gunnery range for its military. Taiwan reportedly even promised to donate a secondhand fighter as part of the deal. However, as Manila recognizes Beijing’s one-China policy, nothing came of the agreement.
According to Nolcom officials, the base will help monitor ships passing through the international trade route called Balintang Channel in northern Philippines. The channel is used by vessels crossing from the busy waterway of the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Before the project, Nolcom officials reportedly said their presence was needed, thus the building work on Mavulis Island, and while the island was uninhabited, they were building a facility to guard the Philippine maritime domain against poaching during the fishing period.
Both the Philippine and Taiwan coast guard ships have confronted each other in the rich fishing waters in the Mavulis area where their exclusive economic zones overlap, and even nearly cut ties in 2013 after a Philippine vessel fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing a fisher.
Both countries also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), along with Brunei, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, that more than 20 years ago, Philippine defense officials said Taiwan proposed leasing the island as a gunnery range for its military. Taiwan reportedly even promised to donate a secondhand fighter as part of the deal. However, as Manila recognizes Beijing’s one-China policy, nothing came of the agreement.
According to Nolcom officials, the base will help monitor ships passing through the international trade route called Balintang Channel in northern Philippines. The channel is used by vessels crossing from the busy waterway of the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, former Nolcom spokesman, said the Mavulis Project would increase the presence of local fishers in the region, contributing to the protection of the Philippine marine resources and enhancing information gathering around the northern maritime area.
“The structure will serve as a multipurpose shelter for locals fishing in the vicinity and double up as shelter for troops visiting the island to guard our maritime domain in that isolated area during the poaching season,” he stressed.
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