Esperon: No need to protest China's bombers in South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines — Echoing China's justification of deploying a bomber aircraft in the South China Sea, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. stressed that Beijing's activities are not directed at Manila.
Esperon said that the Chinese Air Force's deployment of a nuclear-capable bomber aircraft on Woody Island in the Paracels should not be a cause for alarm.
"Are we the target? Should we be alarmed? I do not think so because we are not at war with China and we are not at war with ASEAN," Esperon said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
"Should we launch a protest against that? I don't think so," he added.
The national security adviser added that the Paracel Islands are not part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
The bombers have a range of 1,900 kilometers and China could launch missiles from Hong Kong and reach Manila as it is only about 1,200 kilometers away, according to Esperon.
"Not to defend that landing there, it is an incident that is part of the drill for landing but the purpose of that must be looked into — training," Esperon said.
Incidentally, Esperon's remarks are similar to China's statement over the recent deployment on Woody Island.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the deployment of a bomber aircraft on its largest base in the Paracel Islands were "normal training" of the Chinese military.
"The South China Sea Islands are China's territory. The relevant military activities are the normal training of the Chinese military and there is no need for other parties to overinterpret that," Chinese Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.
Esperon, however, admitted that there is a possibility that China's new weapons in the South China Sea can target the Philippines.
"Can China's defense reach the Philippines? Yes. The question is — are the weapons directed to the Philippine? No. Can they target the Philippines in the future? Possible if you're at war with China," he said.
Following China's latest deployments in the South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs only said that it is taking all diplomatic actions necessary to assert the country's claims in the contested waterway.
The Philippines government, however, has not publicly condemned China for its militarization of the South China Sea unlike Vietnam, also a claimant state, which asked Beijing to withdraw military equipment from the area.
The United States Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis continues underway in the South China Sea.
The US Pacific Command just reported that it has received "cargo" from support ship USNS Rainier in the disputed waters.
#GreatGreenFleet's USS @Stennis74 receives cargo from USNS #Rainier in the #SouthChinaSea - @US7thFleet pic.twitter.com/MnJWrow6Vv
— U.S. Pacific Command (@PacificCommand) June 10, 2016
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources conducts an aerial maritime inspection over Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc on Thursday, according to a report of PTV.
PTV says BFAR is checking if the southeast portion of Bajo de Mansinloc remains free from illegal and hazardous floating barriers.
Earlier this week, the Philippine Coast removed the chains surrounding the entrance of Bajo de Masinloc installed by the China Coast Guard. — PTV
The National Security Council condemns the installation of the floating barriers of the China Coast Guard in Bajo de Masinloc, PTV reports on Monday.
“It ruled categorically that such action by the PRC violated the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen in the shoal who have been fishing there for centuries," NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya says.
"Any State that prevents them from doing artisanal fishing there violates UNCLOS and international law, in general,” he adds.
PTV reports that BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy and HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 21.
“The joint sail is part of the Philippine Navy's regular engagements with its partners in the Philippines' maritime zones. Bravo Zulu to all the personnel of both ships and those who planned this activity," Ltc Enrico Gil Ileto, Public Affairs AFP chief says.
WATCH: BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy and HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 21. (????: AFP Wescom) | via Bea Bernardo (1/2) pic.twitter.com/DmJguzJSiF
— PTVph (@PTVph) September 22, 2023
Ahead of the second State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcis Jr, the descendants of the Bai sa Condor and Anta sa Tebouk, on behalf of the Iranun in the Philippines composed of 16 sultans, formally declares ownership of the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoals as patrimony from their ancestors.
The declaration of ownership is led by Sultan Tomas Reyes Cabili, Jr. as part of the advocacy of the Tomas Ll. Cabili Foundation (TLC Foundation).
"TLC Foundation is doing this for our country’s sake as a whole on our claim for what is ours. Not just for our Muslim brothers and the Moro Origins of Mindanao (IRANUN), BUT for all the Filipinos - and the next generations to come. All the Philippines’ descendants of the Iranunis unfurling the historical dimension of the Spratlys and the ScarboroughShoals to strengthen the Philippines' claim on them and complement the theoretical frameworks already presented in the United Nations," Cabili says.
Raymond Powell, project lead at the Gordion Knot Center for National Security Innovation, tweets that China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels "maneuvered dangerously close" to two Philippine Coast Guard ships on a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea last week.
In a tweet, Powell identifies the ships as BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua. He says these were escorting a small-boat resupply mission to the Philippines' outpost aboard BRP Sierra Madre and were met by an armada of CCG and militia ships, as well as a possible navy vessel.
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