Año: Military assets need not join Scarborough ops yet

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año in file photo. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine military assets will not be directly involved in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal operations yet, despite unprecedented usage of Chinese jets and warships, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said on Thursday.

For now, Año said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will still take the center stage in the law enforcement operations in the area.

“Well as much as possible, as we said, we don’t want to be the source of escalation,” Año told reporters in a phone interview when asked if there is a need to tap Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)  assets.

READ: htt2-us-warships-deployed-off-panatag-days-after-chinese-ships-collision/

“We treat the area as a law enforcement function of PCG and BFAR, so we will continue to do that.” he added. “Our armed forces are ready to support our law enforcement agencies if needed.”

AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. noted that Monday’s incident is the first time a PLA Navy asset actively participated in frustrating Filipino ships’ maritime mission in Panatag Shoal.

A PLA-N warship with hull number 164 had a collision with China Coast Guard (CCG) with hull number 3104, which was chasing BRP Suluan at the time, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

Both ships sustained damage with CCG-3104’s forecastle being badly crushed, while BRP Suluan managed to evade the maneuver, Tarriela said.

On Wednesday, Tarriela also announced that a Chinese fighter jet shadowed a PCG aircraft conducting a maritime domain awareness flight over the area, flying dangerously close to the plane.

China pushes what experts termed as “exclusion zone enforcement” around the atoll, outright flouting the landmark arbitral ruling, which declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

“Well, I think they (China) are intensifying their actions there, using force to intimidate us, but just the same, we are not intimidated because we are on the right side,” Año said.

Nevertheless,  Año said “there is no change of strategy that we will first use the armed forces” adding that such major policy decisions should come from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“We don’t see anything that will trigger the participation of the military so far,” he also said.

The Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) of Manila and Beijing and other diplomatic means should be utilized first, Año also said.

“That should be the primary means to resolve this difference,” Año said of diplomacy and BCM. “So, we should not be the source of any escalation although we are ready to defend our country when the time comes.” /mr