Navy: Measures in place vs. possible Chinese interference in Balikatan --- By Priam Nepomuceno

MANILA – A ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official said while China is not expected to interfere in the ongoing "Balikatan" exercise, they are prepared to implement contingency measures for such an event. "Yes, there are appropriate measures in place," PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a media briefing Tuesday afternoon, but he did not elaborate due to security reasons. Asked why he believes China will not interfere in the three-week drills, Trinidad said it is because the "activity is between the United States and the Philippines." "Historically, the illegal, unprovoked, uncalled-for actions of China will only be (against the) Philippines," Trinidad said. He also declined to comment on whether Balikatan's "multilateral maritime exercise" will be timed or coordinated with a rotation and reprovisioning for the detachment in Ayungin Shoal. Naval and Coast Guard ships from the Philippines, United States, and France are expected to take part in this event. "I would like to leave the details to the ground commander, the commander Western Command, and Naval Forces (West), I don't want to preempt anything," Trinidad said. He also said troops manning the Ayungin Shoal detachment still have adequate food and other supplies as they have no urgent request for these. Also, Trinidad said he expects China to be less aggressive during the course of the "multilateral maritime exercise". "Yes, that has been the call ever since for China to respect international law and I expect them to behave actually this time," he added. Naval improvements for archipelagic defense As this developed, PN chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. said efforts are ongoing to improve the country's naval capabilities pursuant to the military's Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC). Part of this effort is the commissioning of the "new fast attack interdiction craft and integration of advanced missile systems," Adaci said. He was referring to the arrival of the Acero-class missile boats armed with the NLOS (non-line of sight) missiles that were test fired last April 10 off the water of Bataan. "Activities and milestones such as this extend to the ongoing expansion (and) improvement of naval bases across (the) archipelago. These upgrades and efforts strategically position our assets for effective defense and we will continue improving our maritime capabilities toward creating a credible defense posture and a naval force (fully capable) mission for (the) CADC," Adaci said. "We also began crafting the concept of naval support to the CADC and have undertaken significant strides in collaborating with subject matter experts and other government agencies," he added. (PNA)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Russia captures town after 2 years of Ukrainian resistance --- Reuters

Russian forces now control 98.5% of Luhansk, 60% of Donetsk MOSCOW: Russian troops on Wednesday took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022. The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it. Ukraine's eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town to avoid encirclement by Russian troops and "preserve personnel and military equipment". The Russian defense ministry did not mention Vuhledar in its daily battlefield report. Russian Telegram channels, however, published video of troops waving the Russian tricolor flag over shattered buildings. The town, which had a population of over 14,000 before the war, has been devastated, with Soviet-era
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Vietnam condemns China's 'brutal behavior' in fisher attack ---- Agence France-Presse

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China's "brutal behavior" during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands -- an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam "resolutely protests the brutal behavior of Chinese law enforcement forces against Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam", foreign ministry spokesperson Vietnam Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, using the Vietnamese term for the Paracel Islands. "The above actions of Chinese law enforcement forces seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty" over the archipelago, the statement said. Four of the Vietnamese crew were taken to hospital on Monday
Read more