PH needs to bolster maritime, air capabilities, analysts say

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 9, 2024): PH needs to bolster maritime, air capabilities, analysts say (By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos)

TERRITORIAL DISPUTE. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on Tuesday (March 5, 2024) that one of their vessels sustained a minor damage after it figured in a collision with a Chinese Coast Guard vessel during a resupply mission for troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal. Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said the collision was a result of what he described as dangerous maneuvers of Chinese vessels in an attempt to block Philippine vessels. (Screenshot from PCG video)

MANILA – The Philippines must strengthen its maritime and air capabilities to defend and protect its territory from the threat of foreign invasion, an analyst said on Saturday.

De La Salle University professor Renato de Castro even suggested that the Marcos administration should now focus on external threats, particularly China’s provocative actions towards the Philippines in the latter’s waters.

“Ang pinaka-essence nito is of course, develop our capability to project ‘yung comprehensive power natin sa ating exclusive economic zone (EEZ), hindi lang sa West Philippine Sea, hindi lang sa South China Sea, kundi sa kabuuan (The very essence of this, of course, is to develop our capability to protect our comprehensive power in our exclusive economic zone. Not just in the West Philippine Sea, not just in the South China Sea, but in the entirety of our territory),” he said in a weekly forum in Quezon City.

“Of course, this will entail a huge amount of money kasi talagang (because indeed), we literally have to start from scratch. But this is of course our effort to address what we call a quintessential security threat, which is, of course, China literally knocking on our door.”

University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea Director Jay Batongbacal, meanwhile, said the government must take an unconventional approach to defend the country’s territory.

Batongbacal said the “big” challenge for the Marcos administration is the Philippine waters and maritime natural resources “are being taken actively” by China.

Agreeing with Batongbacal, de Castro added that the government must come up with “comprehensive” strategies and suggested that it may conduct a unilateral exploration of the country’s resources and develop the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) tri-service composed of the Army, Air Force, and Navy units.

Given that China “has the largest navy in the world,” de Castro proposed amending the AFP Modernization Law to allow the military to acquire its warships from local manufacturers.

De Castro made the recommendation, as he emphasized the need to improve the country’s port facilities and develop the shipbuilding industry.

“You cannot develop a credible navy kung wala tayong matibay na (if we do not have a strong) shipbuilding industry,” he said. “Dapat maghanda ho tayo (We have to get ready) and, of course, ang first noon (thing that we have to do) is we have to understand the issue.”

De Castro acknowledged that the current administration’s response to China’s recent actions is “very rigorous,” citing the efforts to heighten the Philippines’ presence in its maritime territory.

Batongbacal agreed with de Castro’s statement, saying the country is “leveling up” since most of the AFP personnel from its three units are getting involved in addressing the external threats, specifically China’s presence in Philippine waters.

“Sineseryoso talaga ng gobyerno yung challenges natin ng external defense kasi matagal na, ilang dekada na, maraming administrasyong nagdaan na parang masyado talagang naabsorb ang atensyon ng defense sa internal security operations (The government is really taking our external defense challenges seriously because for a long time, for several decades, the past administrations seem to have absorbed the attention of defense in internal security operations)," he said.

“‘Pag hindi sila (China) napigilan diyan, siguardong in the future, papasok talaga sila sa ating mga inter-island resources at water resources kaya kailangan talaga ito (If they are not stopped there, surely in the future, they will intrude into our inter-island resources and water resources so this is really necessary),” Batongbacal added.

China, he said, is “clearly violating international law and trying to force us to submit to it.”

“We are pursuing our interest. We are trying to defend our resources. We are asserting our rights and entitlements in accordance with international law,” he said.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. announced that the AFP has adopted the new Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept to defend the Philippine territory, including its EEZ.

The defense chttps://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1220430oncept would allow the Philippines to project its military power into areas that must be protected and preserved according to the country’s Constitution.

The move comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping called for coordination of military strategy at sea and to prepare for potential maritime conflicts.