Improve PH presence in WPS
As China’s intrusions into the Philippine waters have reached alarming levels to express forcible claims of ownership of certain parts of what belongs to the country, the Marcos administration has no choice but to improve and strengthen its presence in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). The only choice left is to launch the much delayed four-phase, multi-billion-peso modernization program of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The Philippines cannot leave to the United States the gargantuan task of establishing and strengthening its presence in the WPS, the subject of China’s hegemony in East Asia. As a responsible defense partner, the country has to do its share when it comes to establishing its presence at the WPS amid China’s aggression.
The need to pursue the PCG modernization program has become paramount when early last week, two Chinese vessels collided with each other in an incident at the WPS. The two Chinese vessels were reported to have been pursuing a much smaller but faster PCG vessel, but ended up in an embarrassing collision.
According to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson on the WPS issue, Chinese vessels have been periodically sighted in Philippine waters in a bid “to normalize their presence” in this part of the world. China has been relying on the fiction that it owns almost the entire South China Sea on the basis of historical presence and international law.
History showed Chinese pirates were present during the country’s precolonial days. They raided the coastal villages, killing their men, raping their women, and stealing their children to be sold as slaves in parts unknown. Moreover, the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations Conference of the Law on the Seas in 2016 dismissed as baseless China’s claim of ownership of the South China Sea and the WPS.
Since the budget season has begun, the imperative is to work with Congress for an increased budgetary allocation for the PCG, the civilian agency tasked to guard the country’s vast coastal areas, especially the ones in front of the WPS, where vessels of the Chinese militia, China Coast Guard, and Chinese Navy vessels have been constantly intruding to create presence there in a major bid to claim as theirs a part of our territory there.
Congress must enact immediately the proposed four-phase multi-billion-peso modernization program that includes not just the acquisition of modern and technologically equipped vessels but the pursuit and development of a new headquarters for its fleet and personnel. Several lawmakers have filed their bills on PCG modernization program. The bills vary in contents but the objective is clear: stop China’s hegemony.
At the House of Representatives, Rep. Leody Tarriela of the lone district of Mindoro Occidental filed in 2022 a bill that seeks to improve the PCG through a four-part modernization program, admitting that the PCG has insufficient capacity and capability. His bill did not take off in the 19th Congress. Leody, Jay’s uncle, is expected to have refiled the same measure in the 20th Congress, as the House completes its reorganization.
Several senators have filed differing versions in the last Congress, and are expected to have refiled some of them.
Overall, the different bills seek to focus on the organizational development to streamline the PCG amid the budget squeeze and other priorities in government spending; the increase of its personnel to 100,000 in the next ten years; doctrines development to fulfill its mandate as guardian of the country’s coastal area; infrastructure development; and facilities acquisition and modernization.
According to Commodore Jay Tarriela, the modernization program also includes the acquisition of more vessels through the donation programs of the US, Japan, Korea, France, Germany, Australia, among others. He did not discuss details, although he said the donations would help the cash-strapped government because coast guard vessels are expensive.
But the most compelling is its immediate transfer and relocation to new headquarters. At the moment, the PCG has its headquarters in the seaside part of the Port Area in Manila. It is directly at the back of the posh Manila Hotel, but its situation could be described as pathetic and thoroughly inconvenient. Its small building and cramped offices house the current PCG personnel that could reach slightly over 24,000. There are suggestions to put the headquarters either in Mindoro island or Zambales coast.
We still do not know how the proponents of the PCG modernization program in Congress and the Executive would argue before lawmakers the ultimate necessity of improving the PCG capacity and capability to deter Chinese hegemony. It bears watching in the coming days.
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Philip M. Lustre Jr. is a veteran journalist and book writer with over four decades of experience in writing topics on politics, the economy, international relations, environment, among others.
