Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and other Armed Forces of the Philippines officials visit Mavulis, the northernmost island of the country.
MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called for the development of more structures and ordered the military to increase its presence in Batanes, the country’s northernmost island closest to Taiwan.
Teodoro made the call during his visit to the Naval Detachment in Mavulis Island in the province.
“He also called for the development of more structures, noting that Batanes is the ‘spearhead of the Philippines as far as the northern baseline is concerned’,” the Philippine Navy said in a statement on Tuesday night.
“The Secretary also gave instructions for an increased AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) presence in the area,” the Navy added.
Aside from Teodoro, AFP Chief-of-Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr., along with other AFP officials, also visited the island- province.
The construction of Naval Forward Operating Base Mahatao in Batan Island, which the officials inspected, is ongoing.
Mavulis Island and the provincial capital of Basco are being eyed as one of the potential venues of this year’s Balikatan exercise.
Mavulis, the northernmost island of the country, is just 142 kilometers away from Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point of Taiwan.
Taiwan is a self-ruled island which China regards as a renegade province subject to reunification.