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| (from left to right) Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, Philippine Navy (PN) Spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya, and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela jointly hold a press conference to address issues surrounding the maritime security of the Philippines. (Photo by: Gelaine Gutierrez/PIA-NCR) |
by: Janna Marie Pineda
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Philippine government will not dignify any tactics and intimidation that are geared towards depriving the Filipino fisherfolk of their rights to support livelihood in their legitimate fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea.
This is the collective response of the National Task Force – West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) as they convened on Tuesday, January 14, to address the issues surrounding the country’s maritime security with the illegal presence of Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 5901 in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.
“The presence of the monster ship in our waters is illegal and inconsistent with the exercise of freedom of navigation and innocent passage. It is clearly a provocative act,” said National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya.
“It is also a clear attempt to intimidate our fishermen and deprive them of their legitimate livelihood,” he added.
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| NSC ADG reiterates the commitment of the government in safeguarding the rights of Filipino fishermen in the country's maritime zones, citing that the presence of the 'monster ship' in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines is illegal and a clear attempt to deprive them of their legitimate livelihood in their traditional fishing grounds. (Photo by Gelaine Gutierrez/PIA-NCR) |
The NTF-WPS has reiterated that if the goal of the CCG is to increase aggression in the territorial waters of the Philippines, it will also increase the resolve of the government to continue supporting the Filipino fishermen.
“We are fully committed to supporting our Filipino fishermen despite the intimidation and coercion being done by the (People’s Republic of China) PRC through the presence of the monster ship. The Philippine government will not be deterred. We will continue to support our fishermen as much as we can,” Malaya added.
The Philippine government is also prepared to enforce all necessary means to protect its territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea through the country’s maritime assets and the implementation of relevant laws, particularly the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the 2016 arbitral ruling.
For its part, the Philippine Navy (PN) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will intensify the conduct of multilateral maritime activities with allies and partner nations to further develop the country’s capabilities in responding to maritime security challenges.
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| Philippine Navy Spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad (center) states that more multilateral maritime cooperative activities are expected to be implemented in 2025 to further strengthen the capability of the Philippines to respond to maritime security challenges. (Photo by: Gelaine Gutierrez/PIA-NCR) |
“The approach of the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces when it comes to our treaty ally and other partner nations is to have more activities in the maritime domain, covering not only Bajo de Masinloc but also the northern islands, eastern seaboard, and the West Philippine Sea,” said PN Spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad.
The NTF-WPS, however, underscored that the Philippine government will continue to utilize all diplomatic mechanisms to secure peaceful settlements of dispute in the contested waters.
“Our objective, of course, is to manage the situation in a way that we lower tension. It is very clear that the presence of the monster ship in Philippine waters is unacceptable and therefore should be withdrawn immediately by the Chinese government,” Malaya stressed.
As of the morning of January 14th, the location of the CCG 5901 is 77 nautical miles off Capones Island in Zambales.
The PCG, through the BRP Gabriela Silang and BRP Teresa Magbanua, is challenging and closely monitoring the vessel on a day-to-day basis to prevent them from normalizing their illegal presence in Philippine waters. (JMP/PIA-NCR)
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