ARMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Romeo Brawner said on Monday, August 21, 2023, they were not aware of the plan of the United States (US), Japan and Australia to conduct a joint navy drill in the South China Sea (West Philippines Sea).
“Actually ‘yung nabasa po natin dun sa Kyodo News na yun ay bini-verify pa rin natin sa ating counterpart sa Japan, sa US, sa Australia, kung meron man po silang mga activities na ganun ay hindi po tayo informed, hindi po totoo yun na nagdecline tayo,” Brawner said in a radio interview.
(Actually, we are still verifying with our counterpart in Japan, US, and Australia if they have activities like what we read in Kyodo News. We are not informed and it’s not true that we declined.)
“Oo, hindi po totoo yun (na nag-decline tayo). Actually siguro ang ibig po nilang sabihin is that hindi tayo sumama or nag-commit ng barko, however meron po tayong ongoing na exercise. In fact today, ongoing po ‘yung exercise natin sa Palawan with the Australian armed forces,” he added.
(Yes, that is not true (that we have declined). Actually, maybe what they mean is that we did not join or commit a ship; however, we have an ongoing exercise. In fact today, our exercise is ongoing in Palawan with the Australian armed forces.)
The joint navy drill reportedly aims to underscore the commitment of the three countries to the rule of law in the region following the aggression of China against the Philippines during an August 5 incident where the China Coast Guard used water cannon to drive away Philippine vessels and troops who were then conducting resupply mission for personnel stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. The mission was suspended.
The US plans to deploy an aircraft carrier, the USS America, while Japan would send one its helicopter carriers, JS Izumo, one of its biggest warships.
The Royal Australian Navy committed to send its HMAS Canberra, which also carries helicopters.
Meanwhile, Brawner said they will resume their resupply operations in the coming days.
If the water cannoning by China, which claims over 90 percent of the West Philippine Sea, will happen again, he said the Philippines will implement maximum tolerance.
“Tayo, sumusunod tayo sa rules of engagement and international laws at nakalagay dun na hindi po tayo pwedeng lumaban ano, so even if wina-water cannon na tayo, meron rin naman po tayong water cannons pero hindi natin gagamitin sa ganong paraan. We only use our water cannons to save lives, kung may sunog ‘yung isang barko, yun po ‘yung pangpatay natin ng sunog, ‘yung water cannons natin,” said Brawner.
(We follow the rules of engagement and international laws and it states that we cannot engage in a fight, so even if we also have water cannons, we will not use them in that way. We only use our water cannons to save lives. If there's a fire on a ship, we use our water cannons to extinguish the fire.)
“Iiwas po tayo, iiwas, iiwas na lang and to make sure na hindi, kunwari haharang sila, iiwas tayo para hindi tayo magkabangaan,” he added.
(We will just avoid and make sure that if they will block, we will avoid them so that we don't collide.) (SunStar Philippines)