AFP assets ready for WPS defense
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The entire air and navy assets of the nation’s military stand ready to support the Western Command in Palawan in adherence with the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, which aims to address external security challenges, particularly amid the heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, Western Command chief, said on Tuesday in a press conference here held in conjunction with the commemoration of the command’s 48th founding anniversary that all assets in the inventory of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are at his disposal, contingent upon his defense operational planning.
His statement came amid inquiries regarding Wescom’s reaction to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s proposal for an enhanced presence of Philippine Air Force fighter jets in Palawan, prompted by developments in the West Philippine Sea.
“All options — all assets in the inventory of the AFP are available to me as I do my defense operational planning, but I cannot discuss that in public — what vessel or what aircraft. But all are available for deployment here in WPS,” Carlos said.
He said all PAF and PN assets must be synchronized with the new defense concept.
The CADC was recently introduced under the Marcos administration, employing a comprehensive governmental strategy to address the maritime conflict with China.
“We will simply align this with the new defense concept, and if it necessitates the deployment of aircraft, then we will deploy them,” Carlos said.
“I cannot discuss changes for operational security matters, but rest assured that Wescom is really excited to operationalize this in the WPS since it is one of those signs that we are really shifting to external defense. So, we welcome that concept; we are excited to operationalize it,” Carlos said.
Lt. Gen. Charlton Gaerlan, deputy chief of staff of the AFP, underscored the importance of asset availability and deployment in fulfilling the mandate of national defense, emphasizing that they serve no other purpose.
Further, he explained that a crucial objective of implementing the CADC is to ensure the availability of AFP assets in areas where they are needed.
“In the case of Wescom, whatever they need, the AFP will provide, and if there are still shortages, those will be procured. That’s what the new concept means — whatever is needed will be provided, and any deficiencies will be addressed,” he said.