What ‘special arrangement?’ Navy says no need to get China OK to go to WPS

PHILIPPINE ships and aircraft can proceed to Ayungin Shoal or any part of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to fulfill their mission and mandate without seeking any permission from any foreign power.

This was emphasized by Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad when asked to comment on reports that China has allowed the country to resupply its troops in Ayungin Shoal aboard the grounded BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) as a “temporary special arrangement”.

“Again BRP Sierra Madre is a commissioned vessel of the PN, it is in Ayungin Shoal or Second Thomas Shoal, which is a low tide elevation within our exclusive economic zone [EEZ] where we have sovereign rights and the waters adjacent to LT57. The PN, in particular, and the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], in general, does not need to seek any permission from any power, any foreign power. We could sail and fly in support of our constitutional mandate,” he added in a news conference Tuesday.

Nothing alarming

TRINIDAD also said there is nothing alarming with the sighting of the 15 to 25 Chinese warships and 10 to 15 China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels spotted in Mischief Reef, which is considered an “enclosed safe harbor.”

“The presence of the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] Navy ships, the [CCG] vessels, and the maritime militia has been noted for the past, I mentioned five to eight years, it’s nothing alarming, it’s a normal deployment, we have our own deployment, our own forces from the Navy and the AFP,” he added.

Trinidad also said the PN also has a sufficient number of ships in the area along with the Philippine Coast Guard to do their mandated missions.

“Suffice it [to] say, given what we have we are good at it, given more we can perform even better,” he added.