Weak maritime patrol capability

The Philippines, with 7,641 islands, ranks fifth among states with the most extensive coastlines, according to The World Factbook of the US Central Intelligence Agency covering 198 countries and 55 territories. That coastline totals approximately 36,289 kilometers, which must be properly policed to keep out intruders, protect the environment and catch pirates, smugglers, drug dealers and other lawbreakers.

Guarding the western seaboard of the archipelago is particularly challenging as foreign vessels led by Chinese militia ships escorting massive swarms of their fishing vessels operate within Philippine territorial and sovereign waters. For such missions in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard says it has all of three offshore patrol vessels. The PCG says it needs at least 30 ships to effectively patrol the WPS alone.

This acute lack of capability is surely among the factors emboldening Chinese coast guard vessels, which are under military supervision, to enter the WPS at will, shoo Filipino fishermen away from the Philippines’ maritime exclusive economic zone and challenge the operations of the PCG and Philippine Navy.

Apart from Chinese militia incursions into Philippine waters, smugglers appear to operate with ease around the archipelago, especially if protected by local political kingpins, bringing in through porous coasts a wide range of contraband including shabu, guns and even motorcycles. Large containers of prohibited drugs are unloaded from ships in the high seas and plucked out of the water by smaller boats, and then freely brought in through poorly policed coastal areas.

The PCG is under the Department of Transportation. The Navy has its patrol vessels, but their numbers and capability are also limited, especially when ranged against the coast guard and naval assets of China. This is despite the modernization boost for the Armed Forces of the Philippines that was carried out by the Duterte administration.

The country will have to turn to allies and other friends to boost Philippine maritime patrol capabilities, including electronic surveillance of the waters around the archipelago. With the Philippines buried in P13.42 trillion debt as of the end of 2022, any coast guard modernization can be expected to be modest. It is an investment in national security, however, that cannot be put off.