Bongbong Marcos to AFP brass: Be ready for ‘emerging threats’ to PH

DAY OF THE GENERALS President Marcos administers the oath of 31 newly promoted generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday at Malacañang, including the chief of staff, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. The Commander in Chief called on the top brass to maintain readiness for the archipelago’s defense. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Armed Forces of the Philippines must be ready against “emerging threats” to the country.

Mr. Marcos made a virtual pep talk to newly promoted generals of the AFP and as well as flag officers of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard, in a speech during their oathtaking at Malacañang on Friday.

The President also made the remarks two days after US President Joe Biden warned China against attacking the Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The country’s defense chief and his American counterpart also issued a joint statement that day “vowing to increase the pace and scope of US-Philippines engagements.”

“We must be ready. Our Armed Forces must be capable of securing and defending the archipelago from emerging threats,” the President said in his speech.

READ: Bongbong Marcos: AFP must be ready to defend archipelago from emerging threats

The AFP should be “agile, flexible and responsive to better address emerging issues confronting our nation,” he added.“We must maintain our vigilance and guard against those actors—whatever nature or form they may take—who would threaten and jeopardize the peace we have striven and fought for all these many years,” Mr. Marcos said.

He said the military must not only anticipate but must also be ready “to adapt and respond to emerging national security and defense realities that exist in our country and in our region.”The President further directed the AFP to enhance its joint planning and operations “to ensure interoperability” across all its units.

He acknowledged the positive and encouraging developments in the country’s internal security situation, but said “there remains much to be done” in terms of external security.

Mr. Marcos assured the military of the government’s “unshakable commitment to their protection and their welfare.”

‘Ironclad’

The President’s speech followed almost a week after the military reported two reported collisions on Oct. 22 involving a China Coast Guard ship and maritime militia vessel and two boats contracted by the Philippine Navy.

On Wednesday, Biden and visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held a press conference at the White House. The American leader read a statement saying that “any attack on Filipino aircraft, vessels or armed forces will invoke our mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.”

“I want to be very clear: the United States’ defense commitment to the Philippines is ironclad,” Biden said.

Asked to comment on those remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in her press conference on Thursday: “The US is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to interfere in the issue between China and the Philippines.”

“The US defense commitment to the Philippines should not undermine China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, nor should it support the illegal claims of the Philippines,” Mao also said in remarks also posted on her agency’s website.

‘Escalation’

On Friday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III issued a statement on their phone conversation that day, saying that “Both Secretaries committed to redouble efforts to strengthen bilateral coordination, interoperability, and support for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

The two officials also discussed the Oct. 22 collisions and said they looked forward to meeting in Jakarta during the Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in November.

In a radio interview also on Friday, Teodoro said “We are balancing our sovereignty operations on the possibility that there will be an escalation in the West Philippine Sea.

We do not want that to happen, so we are calculating our next moves.”“But one thing is clear, we cannot just withdraw or retreat [our personnel] in our own seas,” he said. INQ