AFP monitoring SCS activities

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is not blind to alarming developments in the West Philippine Sea where China has set up several military installations and restricted movement of Filipino fishermen.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo made the clarification amid insinuations the military was doing nothing in the face of China’s new construction activities – like installing weather stations – on seven man-made islands within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

Arevalo said some field reports reaching the office of AFP chief Gen. Carlito Galvez are deliberately withheld from the public.

“There are reports reaching the chief of staff and other heads agencies and departments, only that some of these reports did not reach the spokesman and the AFP Public Information Office,” Arevalo said over the weekend.

He said the military was discriminate in making statements so as not to further stir tensions in the region.

The Task Force for the West Philippine Sea headed by National Security Adviser (NSA) Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of National Defense (DND) and AFP have all declined to issue any statement on China’s reported establishment of weather stations.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. had said he would ask Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana about the matter but taunted the media to do the verification themselves.

China itself has issued a statement confirming its establishment of weather stations on occupied islands.

The AFP, however, has made it clear that any civilian trip to certain areas in the West Philippine needs to be cleared with the military.

“You can always seek permission because we need to provide you with appropriate security. We need to provide you too with appropriate information,” Arevalo said. He also pointed out that the DFA is not the proper agency that grants non-military trips to critical areas in the West Philippine Sea.

In a related development, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it would establish a hotline with the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) to improve their coordination especially in search and rescue (SAR) operations as well as anti-drug trafficking and piracy in the West Philippine Sea.

“The two agencies agreed to put up a hotline of communication mechanism which will provide real time 24/7 communication using radio and video conference. The system seeks to facilitate coordination in search and rescue, piracy, drug trafficking and environmental protection,” PCG commandant Admiral Elson Hermogino said.

With a hotline with Chinese coast guard, PCG spokesperson Captain Armand Balilo said: “We can talk via video conference and this could also be replicated in the districts.”

“The West Philippine Sea is vast so it is good that there would be more Coast Guard units that would be monitoring the area,” Balilo said. “We would be able to calibrate our responses and avoid miscalculation.”