AFP opts to stay cool to China’s sending of civilian ship to Spratlys

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie shakes hands with his Filipino counterpart Voltaire Gazmin after their one on one meeting at Manila's military headquarters recently. JAY DIRECTO/AFP

MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shrugged off, on Thursday, reports that China was sending its biggest civilian patrol ship to the disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but added that the military would continue to be on guard against intrusions into the country’s territory.

AFP spokesperson Commodore Miguel Rodriguez said the deployment of the Haixun 31 maritime patrol ship, reportedly a 3,000-ton vessel with a helicopter launch pad, was just a “normal” course of action for a country bent on protecting its own interests.

“For us, that’s just a normal activity,” he said when asked if he interpreted this as China flexing its military muscle in the Spratlys, a chain of reputedly oil-rich islands claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

“All countries have their way of promoting their own interests,” Rodriguez said, adding a comment: “[A] 3,000-ton [ship] – that is small.”

Rodriguez said the AFP would pay no mind to the Chinese vessel and would only act if it began intruding into Philippine territories.

The official added that the Department of Foreign Affairs would be the agency concerned with such developments, and the AFP was no longer in a position to officially comment on the issue.