Navy: Measures in place vs. possible Chinese interference in Balikatan

PN spokesperson for WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad (PNA file photo by Priam F. 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.