MANILA, Philippines — The Coast Guard’s navigational buoys in the West Philippine Sea remain intact, officials confirmed.
There were reports yesterday claiming that Chinese fishermen have removed the buoys.
“The PCG’s 10 buoys, which were dropped in the West Philippines Sea, remain in their designated locations,” Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela told The STAR yesterday.
In May, PCG’s Task Force Kaligtasan sa Karagatan dropped yellow navigational buoys marked with the Philippine flag in the islands of Patag, Kota, Panata, Likas, Lawak, Pag-asa and Parola, as well as the Balagtas and Julian Felipe reefs.
The installation of the buoys “signifies the country’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone,” Tarriela previously said.
China claims the entirety of the South China Sea – a claim debunked in The Hague’s 2016 ruling – and has recently deployed military vessels in contested areas of the West Philippine Sea.
Joint training
Meanwhile, the Philippine military is preparing to hold another joint exercise to boost air assault, defense and rescue assets.
Philippine Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said that Army and Philippine Air Force (PAF) planners laid out objectives for the second iteration of the interoperability exercises (IOX) during a planning conference held at Fort Bonifacio last Wednesday.
Military planners discussed the proposed execution of the exercise, as well as force requirement, logistical requirement and assets that will be used.
The 2nd PA-PAF IOX will be held in the 5th Infantry Division’s area of operations in Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and the northern part of Ilocos region.
The first IOX was held from March 7 to 11 last year, with soldiers and airmen training on military freefall, bundle drop, helicopter sniping, fast rope insertion-extraction system, air evacuation and communications and electronics exercise. — Michael Punongbayan