Navy ship deployment, joint patrols eyed in WPS

The military is considering different options in dealing with China's growing aggressiveness at sea, including deployment of naval assets in specific areas like Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, where two Chinese ships crashed into each other after being outmaneuvered on Monday by a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel they were harassing.

- By MICHAEL PUNONGBAYAN

"It's one of the options, we have many options. And another option is to have an ally join us (in patrols),"" Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters yesterday.

"Let's not forget. We're not alone in this region, we have other players in the region. So we may come together to act against these aggressive actions by China," Brawner said.

He said one more option is to have patrols get nearer to Panatag Shoal. "If you notice, we don't get very near Bajo de Masinloc, so that's an option," he said, referring to Panatag by its other local name.

He said that based on the military's initial assessment, the Chinese warship was sent to Philippine waters near Panatag precisely to ram the PCG's BRP Suluan. "That's also the assessment of the Philippine Coast Guard," Brawner said.

With China's deployment of a warship in the area, it's becoming evident that it has upped the ante in its acts of provocations in the West Philippine Sea, according to Brawner.

He stressed that the collision between the Chinese warship and a China Coast Guard vessel was not the fault of PCG's Suluan, which was just providing security to Filipinos fishing in the area.

Brawner said the AFP will have a conference with the PCG and will seek guidance from President Marcos considering that after the 2012 standoff, the Philippines and China agreed to leave the area.