EDITORIAL
The geopolitical tension in the South China Sea caused by conflicting claims by China and several other countries including the Philippines on certain shoals, rocks and islets there has prompted maritime authorities of the Indo-Pacific region to always maintain a state of readiness.
The contested sea is the largest of the Earth’s seas, at around 3.5 million square kilometers and it borders China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
The SCS is known to contain large reserves of oil and natural gas, and hydrocarbon production has strong potential in areas north of Borneo, east of the Malay Peninsula, and northwest of Palawan in the Philippines. It also has the world’s most important shipping lines, which accounts to more than 21 percent of global trade transiting in these waters, according to UN bodies. Fish and other marine products are of course abundant there, and for centuries the sea had produced food and sustenance for the countries in its shores.
With the claims of the Philippines in certain areas of the SCS, such as Ayungin Shoal, Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc, the government’s civilian sea-going vessels such as those of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) need to strengthen their presence and modernize their floating assets and train their personnel to be able to shore up our position.
There is a crying need, too, for the Coast Guard to upgrade its surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities, not to mention the acquisition of more equipment.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, has vowed to pursue and continue the modernization of both the military and the civilian security forces such as the PCG. He again reiterated this policy of upgrading the capabilities of the Coast Guard at his keynote address at the Lowy Institute in Melbourne, Australia in early March.
In that forum, Marcos announced that he has approved the “update acquisition plan of the AFP called Re-Horizon 3, in line with our Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.”
Now that the President is about to deliver the keynote address at the opening of the 21st edition of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defense forum, it should be reassuring to hear from him such positive developments and affirmations of the Philippines’ defense posture, especially vis-a-vis the South China Sea.
He declared in Melbourne then: “The Philippine forces must be able to guarantee, to the fullest extent possible, Filipinos, Philippine corporations, and those authorized by the Philippine government, unimpeded and peace exploration and exploitation of all natural resources in areas where we have jurisdiction, including within its exclusive economic zone in accordance with international law.”
The Chief Executive mentioned that PH agencies, forces, and institutions are working to strengthen their capabilities, and the country is in the frontline of international efforts to preserve, defend, and uphold the rules-based international order.
It should be inspiring to hear how the leader of the Philippines will articulate in his message the legal and geopolitical position of the Philippines on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) before this year’s IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, as he cited the importance of the waterway to global trade and economy.
In a media interview in Brunei Darussalam prior to departing for Singapore, the President said his keynote address to the defense meeting on Friday is highly important, pointing out the “invitation in itself is highly significant.”
“The fact that they asked the Philippine President to come and speak on that very subject is significant in the sense that it is a recognition that there are challenges that are facing the Philippines, specifically,” Marcos told reporters.
The defense event will gather under one venue defense ministers, military leaders and senior defense officials, as well as business leaders and security experts from across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond to discuss critical security challenges.
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