The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Saturday mentioned that the swarm of Chinese maritime militia in Iroquois Reef could imply that it’s probably eyeing to take management of the world.
In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela mentioned this isn’t the primary time such a maneuver has been accomplished by China.
“Sa Philippine Coast Guard, we already had this experience of reporting this swarming of Chinese maritime militia. Sa aming pag-analisa, ang intensyon nito is to swarm a particular area and to take control of it,” mentioned Tarriela.
Tarriela, nonetheless, mentioned this was the primary time they noticed a lot of Chinese vessels within the space.
“This is the first time we were able to see yung ganito kadaming Chinese maritime militia sa Iroquois… The only analysis that we can provide for the presence of this Chinese maritime militia is to swarm a particular maritime feature and to occupy it,” Tarriela added.
On Friday, The Philippine army reported recognizing over 50 Chinese vessels within the neighborhood of Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal within the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Citing its air patrol carried out on June 30, the Western Command (Wescom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) mentioned 48 Chinese fishing vessels had been seen close to Iroquois Reef, positioned south of Recto Bank within the WPS.
Lieutenant Karla Andres, co-pilot of Philippine Navy’s mild patrol plane, mentioned the fishing vessels had been noticed to be “anchored in groups of five to seven and no fishing activities were noticed.”
Aside from the Chinese fishing vessels, three China Coast Guard (CCG) ships and two People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels had been seen “regularly loitering” close to Sabina Shoal, Wescom mentioned.
“Ang Iroquois Reef ay southern part ng Recto Bank, dito tayo maraming service contract when it comes to oil exploration,” defined Tarriela.
“Recto Bank is a vital feature within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and China must cease its swarming of vessels to respect our sovereign rights,” mentioned Wescom spokesperson Commander Ariel Coloma.
GMA News Online has sought remark from the Chinese Embassy on the matter but it surely has but to offer a press release as of posting time.
Tarriela, in the meantime, mentioned the PCG is already coordinating with the AFP on how they are going to reply on the matter.
“Ang intensyon ng ating Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard is to check on this particular area by deploying our vessels and to document kung nabawasan na ba sila, or they’re still there, or they’re increasing,” mentioned the PCG spokesperson.
“But our objective is to expose them and, at the same time, deploy vessels to drive them away,” emphasised Tarriela.
He provides that reporting Chinese actions within the West Philippine Sea have yielded optimistic ends in earlier instances.
“Ang effort natin sa pag-sasapubliko of this aggression, swarming ng maritime militia, have been very effective sa mga nakaraang buwan. Eto ang isa sa ating mga tools to make sure na this Chinese aggressive behavior and bullying activities will be criticized by the international community so that the Chinese government can be able to be notified on how they act sa karagatan natin sa West Philippine Sea,” he mentioned.
“Kaya mahalaga, tulong-tulong ang Armed Forces of the Philippines at ang Philippine Coast Guard to expose the swarming activity ng China, para malaman nila na we are aware of what they are doing,” added Tarriela. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
