- 9/13/2023
Senators raise concerns on the presence of a United States Navy aircraft during the recent resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal.
The Defense chief pushes for the urgent and genuine modernization of the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard amid China's continuous violation of maritime laws.
The government is studying banning the use of TikTok for national security employees.
Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo speaks with National Security Council Deputy Director General and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
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The Defense chief pushes for the urgent and genuine modernization of the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard amid China's continuous violation of maritime laws.
The government is studying banning the use of TikTok for national security employees.
Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo speaks with National Security Council Deputy Director General and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/
Follow our social media pages:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to The Source, where we combine the headlines with in-depth conversations with
00:06 the newsmakers themselves.
00:08 Sitting in for Pinky Webb, I'm Ria Tanwar Cotribil.
00:11 Today on the program, Senators raise concerns on the presence of a United States Navy aircraft
00:16 during the recent resupply mission in Ayunan Shoal.
00:21 The Defense Chief pushes for the urgent and genuine modernization of the Philippine Navy
00:26 and Coast Guard amid China's continuous violation of maritime laws.
00:32 And the government is studying banning the use of TikTok for national security employees.
00:38 National Security Council Assistant Director General and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya joins
00:43 us live in the program.
00:55 A Senator warns tensions could escalate further in the West Philippine Sea due to the presence
01:00 of a U.S. aircraft during the recent resupply mission in Ayunan Shoal.
01:05 But officials and experts see nothing wrong.
01:07 Amor Santos reports.
01:11 Amid the success of the resupply mission in Ayunan Shoal last Friday, Senator Robin Padilla
01:17 questioned the presence of the U.S. Navy's P-8 Poseidon.
01:21 In the Senate Committee on National Defense's hearing, Padilla confronted the Philippine
01:26 Coast Guard.
01:27 "Shouldn't you be the ones patrolling there?
01:28 Are you admitting that you cannot take care of our sea and we need the U.S. Navy?"
01:39 "We are mastering the much needed courage, determination and patriotism of our Coast
01:45 Guard personnel in the area."
01:46 "I have to be very honest about it.
01:49 It made them more confident and their morale is also high knowing the fact that the U.S.
01:55 government is watching over the sky."
01:58 Defense Undersecretary Ignacio Madriaga says supplies were successfully delivered to BRP
02:04 Sierra Madre because of the courage and capability of Filipino Coast Guard, Navy and civilian
02:10 personnel.
02:11 "The presence of the Americans there is just a help in maritime domain awareness.
02:16 It's like there's an eye in the sky.
02:19 We will not give up because there are Americans there.
02:23 We will not give up.
02:25 We will not give up.
02:26 We will be able to use whatever we have."
02:29 Padilla fears U.S. presence would spark tensions, saying an American military aircraft was deployed
02:36 against a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, which he believed was civilian.
02:40 But China actually placed its Coast Guard under its military.
02:45 Panel Vice Chair Francis Tolentino also clarified that P-8 Poseidon is not a warplane.
02:52 Maritime expert J. Batong-Bacal insists if tensions escalate, it will only be China's
02:57 fault.
02:59 He also sees nothing wrong with the presence of P-8 Poseidon, citing freedom of navigation
03:05 and overflight.
03:06 "We are not doing anything provocative.
03:07 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:08 Why do we have problems now?"
03:09 "Well, we have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:10 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:11 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:12 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:13 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:14 Why do we have problems now?"
03:15 "Well, we have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:16 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:17 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:18 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:19 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:20 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:21 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:22 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:23 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:24 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:25 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:26 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:27 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:28 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:29 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:30 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:31 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:32 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
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03:57 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:58 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
03:59 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:00 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:01 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:02 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:03 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:04 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:05 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:06 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:07 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:08 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:09 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:10 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:11 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:12 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:13 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:14 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:38 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:45 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:50 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:54 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
04:57 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:00 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:03 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:06 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:09 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:12 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:15 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:18 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:21 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:24 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:27 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:30 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:33 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:36 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:39 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:42 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:45 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:48 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:51 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:54 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
05:57 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:00 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:03 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:06 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:09 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:12 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:15 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:18 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:21 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:24 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:27 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:30 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:33 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:36 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:39 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:42 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:45 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:48 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:51 We have been for 6 years without any problems.
06:54 Okay, so now does the government see any change in strategy from China?
06:59 When I spoke to Commodore Tariella the other day,
07:04 he said that it seems that China is using smaller vessels now in the area,
07:10 smaller vessels which are more maneuverable.
07:14 Does this indicate a change of strategy on their part?
07:18 Yeah, I would think so.
07:21 The change in strategy is because the Chinese think that they're on the losing end
07:28 when there's a David versus Goliath scenario.
07:32 When they deploy larger ships, they become some sort of Goliath,
07:37 and the Philippines, of course, is the David.
07:40 So to counter this scenario, which is being played all over the world,
07:43 because now the entire world has seen what's happening in the West Philippine Sea,
07:47 they decided to reduce the number of ships from what it was before
07:53 and utilize smaller ships.
07:55 But in the last incident, they still had a large ship but many more smaller ships,
08:00 and this allows them more maneuverability and better capacity to outmaneuver
08:05 and to block our Coast Guard vessel.
08:08 As we can see in the screen that you're showing right now,
08:12 effectively, they were able to block one of our Coast Guard ships.
08:16 But nonetheless, our supply ships were able to reach the island shore.
08:20 That's right.
08:21 Now, speaking of Chinese ships, though,
08:24 how concerning is the role of Chinese militia vessels
08:28 now that they're being involved in China's, let's say, more aggressive actions?
08:33 It really is very concerning because before, they were still some sort of an aggression.
08:41 You really don't know what precisely is their role.
08:46 They were usually used in swarming activities,
08:50 some sort of effective occupation by their presence on decontested features of the West Philippine Sea.
08:57 But now we see that their true colors have been bared to the world,
09:02 that they are not fishing vessels.
09:05 They are, in fact, part of the structure of the Chinese Communist Party, of the Chinese government,
09:10 and they are instruments of Chinese power in the West Philippine Sea.
09:14 That being the case, sir, what can or what should the Philippines do?
09:20 What is the thing that we can do since these militia vessels are scattered in the West Philippine Sea?
09:26 And as you said, they've been swarming there for a while now.
09:30 Well, that is one thing that the National Task Force West Philippine Sea is considering right now.
09:36 There are many options at the table.
09:38 One option, of course, is to increase also our number of ships patrolling in the West Philippine Sea,
09:45 both gray ships and white ships.
09:48 And there are a lot of options on the table which I cannot disclose right now,
09:57 but we are also considering a change of strategy.
10:01 But let me just state for the record, Rhea, that we will not stop fighting for what is ours,
10:10 and we will continue, of course, to supply our troops of needed supplies and provisions in a human show.
10:17 When you talk about increasing the number of ships, sir, how many are we talking here, and by when?
10:28 For reasons of operational security, Rhea, I cannot really disclose right now what those plans are,
10:33 but the National Task Force West Philippine Sea is considering every available option,
10:39 and we just hope in the future that China will also reciprocate our sincere calls for them to reduce tensions
10:48 and allow the peaceful resupply of our vessels so that we don't have incidents that may lead to more problems in the future.
11:01 Right. Now, going back to the mission, as you know, reporters covering it, including one of our own,
11:09 spotted a U.S. Navy plane.
11:11 So senators are now questioning the presence of the plane during the mission.
11:16 So first, was this coordinated with any government agency?
11:20 When we spoke to Commodore Tariella, he said there was no coordination, at least with the Philippine Coast Guard.
11:26 Well, in yesterday's hearing of the Senate Committee on Defense,
11:32 the officials of the Department of National Defense disclosed that the presence of a surveillance aircraft
11:39 from the United States Navy was coordinated with them.
11:44 So it was a coordinated presence of a surveillance aircraft.
11:49 Sir, do you feel that the U.S. presence in the mission helped or possibly made the situation more tense?
11:57 Let me answer that question, Rhea, in two ways, two parts.
12:05 The first one, let me just address the issue of legality.
12:12 Number one, there's nothing illegal about the presence of an American surveillance aircraft in our exclusive economic zone.
12:19 EECs of various countries under the UNGCLOS are subject to freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight,
12:28 meaning if it's an EEC, any country may utilize the airspace and exercise freedom of navigation on the waters.
12:40 What is exclusive to the Philippines is the exploitation of the national resources on the sea and on the seabed.
12:47 So that is why we have this detachment on the human shore.
12:50 And that is why we continue to say that only the Philippines has the right to establish a permanent structure on the shore.
12:57 So the presence of the United States doing surveillance in any part of the West Philippine Sea,
13:03 in particular the exclusive economic zone, is not illegal and is allowed under international law.
13:09 The other answer, I think, to your question is it does not heighten tensions because this operation was entirely Filipino.
13:21 The resupply to Ayungin was done by Philippine Navy ships and supported by Philippine Coast Guard ships.
13:31 And there was no American presence there whatsoever.
13:35 There was no U.S. Navy ship or U.S. Navy supply ship joining us in the resupply mission.
13:42 What the Americans did was to do surveillance.
13:46 And I think that is well within the Mutual Defense Treaty of the Philippines and the United States.
13:54 Remember that any armed attack on a public vessel of the Philippines can be a ground to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty.
14:03 So I think the Americans were just doing due diligence.
14:06 They wanted to know what was happening so that in case there is an armed attack, they know exactly what happened.
14:13 So we see nothing wrong.
14:17 They were just monitoring the situation in accordance with the terms of the Mutual Defense Treaty.
14:23 All right, sir. We need to take a short break right now, but we will be back.
14:27 This is The Source on CNN Philippines. Please stay tuned.
14:31 [The Source]
14:36 You're watching The Source on CNN Philippines.
14:39 I'm Ria Tanwad Cotrillo, our source today, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya.
14:46 Sir, welcome back to the program.
14:48 Before the break, we were talking about the presence of a U.S. P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft during the recent resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.
14:58 That being the case, do we now expect more surveillance aircraft of the U.S. to be present during our resupply missions?
15:06 I would think so, Ria.
15:10 And I may just also say that it's not just the United States that's monitoring what's happening in Ayungin Shoal.
15:19 Many countries are also monitoring the incidents in Ayungin Shoal.
15:24 Many countries have satellites that pass through the West Philippine Sea.
15:30 And as I said, the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines is subject to freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight.
15:38 So many countries are looking at what's happening.
15:41 I think what's important, and we have to make a distinction, is that the U.S. did not help us in the resupply.
15:48 It was not a U.S. Navy ship that did the resupply. No U.S. Navy ships escorted us.
15:55 And no assistance in the actual resupply was done by the United States.
16:01 What the U.S. did was simply to send a ship, sorry, to send a Navy aircraft to monitor what's happening on the ground.
16:10 When you talk about the other countries who are also monitoring the situation in the West Philippine Sea,
16:16 either through aircraft or through satellites, which countries are we talking about here, sir?
16:21 Again, Ria, for reasons of national security, I could not disclose.
16:27 But you can just imagine who they are.
16:30 The Chinese are also watching.
16:32 They also have satellites over the South China Sea, and I'm sure they are.
16:36 Many countries have interest and are watching intently.
16:41 Our ASEAN partners are also watching developments because the South China Sea and the West Philippines in particular
16:49 is one of the flashpoints in the world right now.
16:53 It's the South China Sea, number one, the Taiwan Straits, the North Korea in the Pacific region, and there's Ukraine in Europe.
17:03 So every country that has a stake in the global order, in the rules-based international order,
17:10 are curious about what's happening and want to find out really the situation on the ground.
17:16 All right, sir. Could you give us an update on the current state of the BRP?
17:20 Sheram Adnani concerns have been repeatedly raised over its deteriorating state.
17:26 I think we have that there on video right now.
17:28 She really is not in the best shape.
17:30 She's in a very, very old vessel, of course.
17:33 Lawmakers are pushing for construction for some type of infrastructure in Iyungin.
17:39 Is this something that we are seriously considering?
17:41 How close are we to making that happen?
17:45 Well, many of our senators and we thank members of the Senate and also some members of the House of Representatives
17:54 for proposing money, government funds, for the construction of a permanent structure.
18:01 In particular, Senator Chief Escudero and I think Congressman Rufus Rodriguez have proposed the insertion of funds
18:10 in the 2024 General Appropriations Act for the construction of maintenance of a permanent structure.
18:18 I heard the amount is around 100 million.
18:21 And we fully support that and we hope that our Senate and members of the House will deliver on their commitment
18:29 to provide money not only for our BRP, Sheram Adnani, and Iyungin Shoal,
18:35 but also for Pagasa Island and the seven other features in the West Philippine Sea,
18:42 which is effectively occupied by the Philippines.
18:45 All right, sir. Again, with that, we're going to be taking a short break.
18:48 This is The Source on CNN Philippines. Please stay tuned.
18:51 You're watching The Source on CNN Philippines.
19:00 I'm Ria Tanwad Cotrillo, our source today, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya.
19:06 Now, sir, during the break, we were talking about China's new 10-dash line map.
19:11 The Philippine government plans to come up with its own map to reflect our maritime entitlements.
19:17 How different are these two maps going to look?
19:19 Well, I can't make an announcement right now because there are some approval process that we have to undergo.
19:29 But maybe what I can say is that this new map will conform to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
19:39 and also to the 2016 arbitral ruling.
19:42 At the same time, it will also possibly reflect the award, the Benham Rice Award or the Philippine Rice Award to the Philippines,
19:50 which is the extended continental shelf on the eastern side of the country.
19:57 All right, sir. We look forward to that.
20:00 Now, we'll shift topics now to TikTok.
20:03 Do tell us, sir, about this idea of banning TikTok for security personnel.
20:10 Who exactly will be covered by this?
20:12 Well, the problems with TikTok arise from two things.
20:19 Number one is the concerns over data surveillance or data collection.
20:23 The other thing is on its social influence or the ability to manipulate audiences.
20:29 So what we're contemplating now and what the National Security Council is studying is whether it would be prudent at this time
20:37 to ban the use of the TikTok app by government personnel in the security sector.
20:44 And when we say the security sector, we're talking about the armed forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police,
20:51 including, of course, the Philippine Post Guard and other uniformed personnel like those in the Bureau of Fire, Bureau of Jail,
20:57 and employees of civilian agencies involved in national security like the National Security Council and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
21:07 All right, sir. But why only TikTok, unless you are considering other apps as well?
21:14 Why TikTok in particular? And how about those who might say that this is possibly a violation of their constitutional rights?
21:21 Well, we might consider other apps, but really the issue with TikTok is the possible control of the Chinese government over the app.
21:35 I wish to emphasize that TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is the Chinese technology company owned entirely by China.
21:44 And under Chinese law, any Chinese company has to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party for whatever reason.
21:53 So given that we have security issues now with China, particularly over the West Philippine Sea,
22:03 we feel it would be prudent for the Philippine government to seriously study and consider the banning of this app
22:13 and possibly other Chinese apps on the devices of security sector employees and personnel.
22:21 We're currently studying it, we're considering it, and hopefully we could come to a decision very soon.
22:27 All right. What would the timeline or schedule for that be, sir?
22:32 I really don't know. There's a team that has been organized in the National Security Council to look into data surveillance.
22:41 Because TikTok has the capacity to determine a person's location through location services.
22:48 It can also look at your interaction and connections and entirely your behavior.
22:54 So it has an ability to compromise national security.
22:58 If, for example, just consider an official of the National Intelligence Agency or the Philippine Army who is involved on the West Philippine issue,
23:07 if his movement can be tracked by the Chinese government through TikTok, that would be a serious breach of national security.
23:15 So it is these things that we are considering why we are looking at banning TikTok from the phones of security sector employees.
23:25 All right, sir. Thank you so much for that and for being on The Source with us this morning.
23:30 That was National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya.
23:34 And thank you for joining us here on The Source.
23:36 Sitting in for Pinky Webb, I'm Rhea Tanwak with video. You're watching CNN Philippines.
23:41 The Source.
23:46 (dramatic music)
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