Military exec asked: Is China guilty of invasion?

Is there an invasion by China in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea)?

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV raised this question to Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command, after he presented a slideshow of the alleged massive reclamation activities in all seven reefs in the West Philippine Sea during the hearing of the Senate committee on national defense on Thursday.

IN PHOTOS: China’s reclamation in West Philippine Sea

“Based on your presentation, do you see an invasion or just sea control or they’re going to make use of this reclamation or the occupied islands for operational basis?” Trillanes asked Lopez after his presentation.

“As I said in my presentation, all the activities of China are all asymmetric actions. There’s no clear message but they are asymmetric,” Lopez said.

READ: Philippines hits back at Beijing over South China Sea 

Asked by Senator Teofisto Guingona III to explain what he meant by asymmetric actions, the military official said:  “In vernacular, ito po ‘yung mga ginagawa nila na hindi pangkaraniwan na wala sa doktina kung sa military.”

(In the vernacular, this means their actions that are not in accordance with military doctrines.)

“Ito po yung ginagawa nila sa ibang lugar, gumagamit sila ng ibang paraan para makamit pa rin nila ‘yung kanilang objectives not through military means, not trough traditional doctrines,” Lopez added.

(These are their actions in places where they use methods which are not through military means and not through traditional doctrines to achieve their objectives.)

Aside from Lopez, other military officials led by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and representatives of the Department of Officials, among others, were present in the hearing. IDL