AFP reiterates commitment to defend Pag-asa Island

MANILA, July 15 ------ The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reiterated its will to defend Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) against hostile forces planning to capture it and its newly improved airfield. "Your AFP is prepared to defend the Republic not only of Pag-asa Island, (but) any part of the country. The AFP is prepared to defend our sovereignty over that part," AFP spokesperson for the WPS Navy reservist Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, when asked if the military is capable of holding on to this vital infrastructure.

Likewise, Trinidad said AFP units in Pag-asa Island are not threatened by the Chinese presence in the area. "We have never felt threatened. History is full of stories of the valor of members of the AFP and the Filipino at large. We don't have to look far from Yultong to (look) what we have accomplished in the internal security scene. Your AFP has proven time and again that we are up to the challenge. We are a peaceful, loving organization, but we are prepared to defend our sovereignty," he added.

Concreting, extension and other upgrades in Pag-asa Island's 1.3-long kilometer Rancudo Airfield were deemed completed as of last year, giving it the capability to handle medium-sized transport aircraft. In a related development, Trinidad also said that the AFP has already beefed up its security posture in Batanes well ahead of Chinese scholars' claim that the island is part of China. "Long before this false claim came out, the AFP (had) already heightened its posture all over the country with an outward-looking posture because of the CADC (Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept). So, long before lumabas itong sinasabi ng mga (well before what is being claimed by the) academics (from) mainland China, your AFP has already increased its presence not only in the northern islands, but WPS. We have been constantly monitoring Scarborough Shoal and the other (areas in the WPS)," he said.

And so far, Trinidad said the only Chinese activity being monitored off Batanes are the "illegal tracks of the research vessels which are being monitored and challenged by the Philippine Coast Guard and by BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources)."

Chinese ships spotted in four WPS features

As this developed, Trinidad said about 24 naval craft from the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and China Coast Guard (CCG) were spotted in four key WPS islands from July 7 to 13.

He identified this as the following:

* Ayungin Shoal: four CCG vessels;

* Bajo de Masinloc: 13 CCG ships;

* Escoda Shoal: two PLAN and one CCG;

* Pag-asa Islands: two PLAN and two CCG.

These numbers are significantly lower than the 44 reported in the last AFP update dated from June 23 to 29.

Source: pna.gov.ph