Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro Jr. —Photo from the official Facebook page of the Department of National Defense
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to remain steadfast in carrying out external defense operations as the country confronts continuing security challenges in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday.
Teodoro told reporters after the AFP’s first-semester command conference at Camp Aguinaldo that Marcos instructed the military to sustain its focus on protecting the country’s territorial and maritime interests.
He said the government would continue adjusting its approach to evolving security challenges without publicly discussing its plans.
READ: AFP monitors 74 Chinese vessels in WPS in June
“It is a fact of life that we have to constantly recalibrate our strategies. We will not message what our strategies are. We’ll just implement them,” Teodoro added.
According to him, the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling strengthened domestic and international support for the Philippines’ position in the West Philippine Sea, but stressed that legal and diplomatic efforts alone could not address China’s continued actions.
“Legal, without hardening and without deterrence, and just with diplomacy, will result in accommodation and abuse,” Teodoro said.
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He added that China’s increasingly assertive behavior extends beyond the West Philippine Sea, citing its activities involving Japan, Pacific island countries and other regions, prompting many nations to strengthen their own defense capabilities.
Common fishing ground
Speaking on Wednesday at the National West Philippine Sea Summit, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the 2016 arbitral ruling fundamentally changed international opinion by rejecting China’s sweeping claims over nearly the entire South China Sea.
“Before the ruling, people did not know who was correct,” Carpio said. “Now, I do not know of any country that supports China’s claim that it owns the South China Sea.”
He said the decision had enabled the Philippines to gain broader backing from countries in Europe, North America and the Indo-Pacific, even as China continues to reject the ruling.
Carpio, however, noted that enforcement of the 2016 ruling remains incomplete because Beijing still prevents the Philippines from fully exercising its sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone, including developing natural gas resources at Reed Bank.
On reports that China had proposed treating Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal as a common fishing ground, Carpio said such an arrangement would only be possible if claimant states first agreed on rules governing fishing seasons, catch limits and sustainable fishing practices.
“If it’s a common fishing ground, then the three countries should decide when the fishing season is, when not to fish to allow the fish to regenerate, and how many tons of fish each country should get,” he noted.
Otherwise, Carpio said the Philippines should seek another arbitral ruling to establish those rules.
Chinese structures remain
Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela, meanwhile, said that while China has removed a platform it previously installed at Scarborough Shoal, seven other structures and objects remaining at the disputed feature.
According to Tarriela, the remaining objects include three buoys, three small towers believed to be communications structures and another barrel-like object.
“It’s not enough for China to remove only the platform,” Tarriela told reporters on Wednesday at the same summit. “If China’s intention is really to protect the marine environment, then they should remove all these things that they installed.”
He said Philippine authorities have not recently monitored Chinese research vessels near the shoal, although China Coast Guard ships and Chinese maritime militia vessels continue to maintain a presence in the area. He added that China should also stop harassing Philippine vessels if it wants to demonstrate sincerity in easing tensions in the West Philippine Sea. /cb
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