MORE warships have been deployed to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as part of the Philippine Navy’s continued maritime operations in the disputed area to ensure the safety and security of Filipino fishermen who make a living in the territory that China claims, following the operation of Beijing’s controversial Coast Guard law.
The additional ships were sent to the WPS following the orders of Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana to the military to increase its presence and visibility in the resource-rich waters of WPS, a traditional fishing ground for Filipinos. This, in the aftermath of the issuance of the Chinese communist government edict to shoot at foreign vessels even in maritime waters that it is contesting.
“The Navy [has] deployed a sufficient number of ships in order to protect our interests in the WPS,” Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo told the BusinessMirror. He had even said earlier that they will not be deterred in carrying out their mandated duties in that area before Sobejana ordered the increased presence of the military there.
“The sovereignty patrols were increased as per direction of the CSAFP [Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines] to ensure that our fishermen and their livelihood are protected in the area,” Bacordo said.
No ‘significant’ changes
“As to the situation in the WPS, no significant changes were observed,” Bacordo said, apparently referring to the security situation and the presence of Chinese paramilitary and military ships in the waters that are part of China’s expansive and overlapping maritime claims.
In ordering the military’s increased visibility in the WPS, Sobejana ordered the deployment of the Navy’s newest assets for maritime patrol operations there, including the BRP Jose Rizal, the brand-new frigate the Navy acquired from South Korea and is capable in four dimensions of warfare—anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine and electronic.
Jose Rizal’s sister ship, soon to be officially christened into the Navy’s service as BRP Antonio Luna, was also acquired from South Korea, and is expected to join the patrols in the WPS.
However, the military is not only making itself visible in the WPS, but even in the country’s maritime waters, including in the northern portion of the country, which, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, is also covered by Jose Rizal, the Antonio Luna and other bigger vessels of the Navy.
“That will be one of their duties, but the West Philippine Sea is not the only area that they will patrol. We have the Sulu seas where we are also very concerned about the egress and ingress of terrorists from Sabah and Indonesia,” Lorenzana recently told one of ANC’s public affairs shows.
“We also have the Benham Rise and the East Philippine Sea, which are also vast; we need also huge vessels because of the turbulent seas there. Smaller ships cannot work there, so we need bigger ships,” the defense chief pointed out.
Possible ‘miscalculations’
THE country’s vast maritime territory, according to Lorenzana, makes necessary for the Navy to acquire additional vessels under the military’s modernization program.
China’s authorization for its Coast Guard to fire at vessels—even in waters claimed by others—and smash structures in islets and features it disputes has prompted the military to step up its patrol, both for maritime security and the protection of Filipino fishermen.
Lorenzana earlier raised concern that the law could lead to a direct confrontation in waters by way of a miscalculation, a belief shared by Sobejana also earlier.
“The miscalculations involve warships, naval ships, coast guard ships, because the Chinese have deployed quite a number of coast guard ships and maritime militia ships in the South China Sea, excluding their naval ships,” Lorenzana said.
The huge number of ships had been predicted way back in 2012 by the then Navy flag officer in command, Alexander Pama. Pointing to a report by Jane’s Defence Weekly, he noted that Beijing had drawn up a security blueprint that entailed the deployment, over six to 10 years, of an increasing number of coast guard vessels and militia ships, warning in an interview that this indicated a calibrated move to steadily stretch its power over the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, the miscalculation that experts warn about could also pit China against the United States and other modern navies, which are involved in patrols in the South China Sea in order to keep it open, both for international navigation and overflight, and whose effects Lorenzana fears.
The miscalculation, he said, could happen “between other nations like the US and other countries who would like to patrol in the area.”
If China shoots any Filipino vessel, the Philippines’s 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the US will automatically come into full operation. The Philippines, under the same pact, is also obligated to assist the US if it goes into a shooting war with Chinese forces.
By all accounts, most analysts see the ramped up presence by both China and the US is mostly an exercise in projecting power. Still, most experts concede that a miscalculation is always possible and this part of the world could become a powder keg in the worst possible scenario. It’s a scenario no one, least of all the thousands of fishermen who have lived off the sea for the longest time, would want to be caught in.