DEFENSE Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said on Friday, March 8, 2024, that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is developing its capability to ensure the protection of the country’s territory.
In a statement, Teodoro said the Department of National Defense and AFP have embarked on the implementation of the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).
“In plain language, we are developing our capability to protect and secure our entire territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in order to ensure that our people and all the generations of Filipinos to come shall freely reap and enjoy the bounties of the natural resources that are rightfully ours within our domain,” he said.
“I emphasize that this is a strategic action and will not need constant directives to carry out. I, thus, urge our commanders and units in the AFP to exert all efforts to operationalize the CADC,” he added.
Teodoro made the statement after Chinese President Xi Jinping directed its armed forces to coordinate preparations for military conflicts at sea and to protect the country's maritime rights and interests and the development of the maritime economy.
Xi made the statement following the recent collision incident between Philippine and China vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
According to Philippine authorities, Chinese vessels made dangerous maneuvers during the conduct of rotational and resupply missions for the BRP Sierra Madre grounded in Ayungin Shoal, resulting in a collision that injured four Filipino personnel.
China maintained, however, that the Philippines is intruding their territory and is violating an agreement, which the Philippines’ foreign affairs department denies, noting that there was no such agreement. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)