00:00The coast guard and naval patrols in the country's EEZ and maritime territories have been religiously
00:06consistent. Although the military's modernization program has received much attention and financial
00:12support from the government, the AFP still needs far more than what government has provided thus
00:19far. Hence, the need to look elsewhere for supplemental financing from non-governmental
00:25sources as our Patrick de Souza covers in this report.
00:32Amid the ongoing improvement of the country's defense, the modernization of the armed forces
00:37equipment continues. According to AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Browner Jr., the plan to
00:44acquire a submarine under the AFP modernization program Horizon 3 remains in place. Hopefully,
00:52the AFP modernization program has increased by 29%, with the government allocating P35 billion
01:20for 2025. General Browner admits this amount is still not enough, especially with multi-year
01:27contracts still being paid for previously procured equipment. However, he says measures
01:33are being taken to secure additional funds through local and foreign financing.
01:50This year, the delivery of two new corvettes from South Korea is expected,
02:10including the BRP Miguel Malbar, which will arrive in March. There will also be new
02:16landing dock ships and six offshore patrol vessels. Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard
02:21continues to monitor Chinese vessels within the country's Exclusive Economic Zone. This includes
02:27the Chinese research vessel Lanhai 101, which was first detected within the country's archipelagic
02:34waters and was last spotted near the Babuyan Islands, heading back to China. Although the
02:39vessel previously informed authorities that its passage was due to bad weather conditions in the
02:45western part of Palawan, the PCG noted suspicious behavior as the vessel turned off
02:51its automatic identification system or transponder.
03:15Currently, the BRP Cabra is monitoring China Coast Guard 3304, which came within 43 nautical
03:28miles of Pangasinan at Bajo de Masinloc. Four China Coast Guard ships remain in the area,
03:34with the most recent arrival being CCG 5303, while the monster ship is still present. Despite this,
03:42the PCG assures the country has the capability to monitor any attempted reclamation at Scarborough
03:48Shoal, which the government considers a red line. That is the priority of our aircraft and also the
03:58intelligence gathering of our Philippine Coast Guard to make sure that the Chinese government
04:04are not carrying out illegal reclamation in Bajo de Masinloc. So far, we can say that the
04:10Chinese government are not doing reclamation in Bajo de Masinloc. Today, the seventh multilateral
04:17maritime cooperative activity between the Philippines, Canada, and the United States
04:23was held in the West Philippine Sea, involving naval and air force units from the participating
04:29countries. From the People's Television Network, Patrick de Azuz, Balitang Pambansa.
