Anniversary of WPS arbitral ruling: AFP vows to defend ‘what is definitely ours’

‘PART OF MY JOB’ | Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, commander of the Palawan-based Western Command, which oversees the West Philippine Sea, visits the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on June 9, 2023. (Photo from the AFP Western Command)

MANILA, Philippines — As the country marked the seventh anniversary of the arbitral ruling on the West Philippine Sea, the Western Command (Wescom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vowed to enforce the ruling to “defend what is definitively ours.”

The Philippines, under the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III in 2013, challenged before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Beijing’s claim that it owned more than 80 percent of the entire South China Sea through its nine-dash line concept which overlaps with the Philippines 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) mandated by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

But in 2016, the PCA invalidated China’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea, ruling that China’s claim had no basis in international law and that it had violated the Philippines’ sovereign right to fish and explore resources in the West Philippine Sea, the waters within the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ in the South China Sea.

Here are the entire statement of AFP’s Wescom Commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos:

“The 2016 PCA ruling gave credence and validation to Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and entitlements in the West Philippine Sea.  As the frontliner in enforcing this ruling, the AFP Western Command (WesCom) remains the dominant force in protecting every inch of the country’s territory and the riches in our exclusive economic zone.

“In our remotest outposts at sea, very few dare to go because of the unpredictability of the temperament of the forces of man and nature.  There, the WesCom soldiers raise the Philippine Flag without fail and proudly fly, sail and stand guard to defend what is definitively ours.

“We are heartened by the solid fact that the decision is now part of international law, is recognized by the international community and has become the basis for policies and actions in the WPS.  We are one with our neighbors and allies in enforcing a rules-based order so that peace and order, freedom of navigation, trade and commerce, and the gifts of nature will continue to flourish to be enjoyed by all future generations.”

In line with the PCA’s ruling, the AFP on Tuesday said its aerial and naval presence in the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippines Sea “dramatically increased” in view of the ongoing maritime dispute in the area.

Recently, AFP’s Western Command (Wescom) spotted a total of 48 Chinese fishing vessels in Iroquois Reef during its latest air patrol conducted last June 30.

The AFP’s Wescom also found Chinese maritime assets near Sabina Shoal, specifically three Chinese Coast Guard ships and two People’s Liberation Army-Navy vessels.

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JPV