AFP ready to assist, support civilian missions to West PH Sea

PEACE AND MUSIC – The civilian mission organized by Atin Ito is returning to the West Philippine Sea in May, this time bringing a peace and solidarity sea concert to the Kalayaan Island Group in Palawan. Shown in photo is New Masinloc Fishermen Association leader Leonardo “Ka Nards” Cuaresma. (INQUIRER / LYN RILLON)

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is ready to extend assistance and support to groups initiating civilian missions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) “if and when necessary,” according to a Navy official.  

Philippine Navy Spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad likewise said that groups requesting close escort for their civilian missions would be handled on a “case to case” basis. 

“The Armed Forces welcomes all civic groups that would like to show support for the stance of the government in the West Philippine Sea,” Trinidad said in a press briefing on Tuesday when asked about the Atin Ito Coalition’s third civilian mission to the WPS in the last week of May this year. 

“The Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces are always ready to support them and to provide assistance if and when necessary,” he added. 

If AFP patrols coincide with a civilian mission, Trinidad said they are open to escorting them. 

“If this (mission) will coincide with different patrol plans, then it will be good to have them at the same time, at the same date,” he added. 

Asked about the tension this might cause in the WPS, the Navy official pointed out that “tensions are not the result of the actions of the Armed Forces” but a result of a “foreign player who would like to control not only the West Philippine Sea but the South China Sea.”

Aside from conducting the mission, the coalition also unveiled its “Peace and Solidarity Sea Concert,” geared at gathering fisherfolk, artists, and advocates. 

The coalition will hold the concert in the WPS. 

In May last year, Atin Ito conducted its second civilian mission. The team delivered “crucial provisions, including fuel and food, to Filipino fishers in the area. 

Their efforts resulted in the distribution of 1,000 liters of diesel and 200 food packs, even with a Chinese Navy ship shadowing them. 

The first-ever supply mission of  Atin Ito was conducted in 2023, wherein one of their resupply boats managed to get past Chinese vessels and reach Lawak Island on December 11.

They brought gifts for those who are based in BRP Sierra Madre and in the WPS’s eight other maritime features.