00:00The armed forces of the Philippines stand ready to protect Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea
00:05while the Defense Department hit back hard at China's latest provocation as we hear from our Patrick de Jesus.
00:14China continues to accuse the Philippines of being responsible for the incidents in the West Philippine Sea
00:21such as the water cannon attack by vessels of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese maritime militia last week
00:28which injured three Filipino fishermen.
00:31According to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense,
00:34they will not be affected by what they call Philippine propaganda
00:38and the act of playing the victim over what they describe as staged incidents.
00:43China further warned that it will continue taking measures it deems appropriate
00:48against what it considers infringement and provocation.
00:52The Department of National Defense pushed back
00:55insisting that the incident involving Filipino fishermen on December 12
01:00is backed by sufficient evidence from on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard.
01:05The spokesperson added that the Philippines is not exaggerating the issue in the West Philippine Sea
01:11as China's actions are clearly aggressive and dangerous.
01:16The armed forces of the Philippines assured that they are carrying out their mandate
01:20in line with the government's whole-of-nation approach
01:23to protect fisher folks in the West Philippine Sea.
01:27Every time na naglalayag yung mga fisher folks natin,
01:31ang kasunod nila yung BFAR.
01:33Yun po yung malapit.
01:35Yun yung mga nagbibigay ng pagkain, tubig, at ng gasolina sa ating mga fisher folks.
01:41Susunod dun yung Coast Guard.
01:43Nakapanipot dyan.
01:44But not far behind, not far away, is the Philippine Navy.
01:48Nagpapantay po tayo dyan.
01:50So hindi po natin pwedeng sabihin na wala yung Navy dyan.
01:54But yun niya ang gusto kong i-emphasize.
01:57Lahat ng mga ahensya na ito ay may kanya-kanyang role.
02:01The AFP will also continue its engagements with partner countries
02:05such as the recently conducted 10th Maritime Cooperative Activity of Zambales
02:11within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone on December 15.
02:15Deployed during the exercise was the BRP Miguel Malvar of the Philippine Navy
02:20while the Philippine Air Force utilized three Super Tucano aircraft,
02:25F-A-50 jets, and a so-called search and rescue helicopter.
02:29Meanwhile, the USS Robert Smalls sailed under the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
02:34with its Seahawk helicopter and P-8 Poseidon aircraft also taking part.
02:40Historically, our data will tell us that when there are foreign counterparts, foreign partners,
02:46the PLA Navy, the CCG, and the maritime militia have a change in their behavior.
02:51Kung saan tayo wala, dun sila gumawa ng aggressive action against our Philippine official folks.
02:58However, the Philippine Coast Guard was able to respond immediately
03:01and sent two Philippine Coast Guard vessels that provide assistance, first aid to our official folks.
03:08The AFP modernization program is also being prioritized to acquire additional assets
03:13that will safeguard the country's territory and sovereignty.
03:18We need a stronger AFP to be able to perform our mandate.
03:21Not only ships, but the overall portion of the AFP.
03:24That will include command and control, cyber, that would include land, air, and sea forces.
03:30Patrick De Jesus from the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.
Comments