No war will erupt over Spratlys, says PH armed forces chief

MANILA, Philippines – Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Eduardo Oban on Tuesday admitted that they are aware of the structures built by the Chinese on the disputed islands of Spratlys in the South China Sea, and that they will have to refer to authorized government agencies to act on the matter.

“We are aware of the structures, and we will have to ask the cognizant department to take action on those,” Oban told reporters in a chance interview after the Philippine Navy’s 113th anniversary ceremonies.

Echoing Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Oban said that the photographed structures were not new, contrary to media reports, but said he could not give the exact time frame when the structures were built.

A national daily on Tuesday published photos of the alleged new Chinese military structures within the Kalayaan Islands – the island group being claimed by the Philippines in the disputed Spratlys in South China sea. The structures–reportedly built on seven different islands, six of which are within the Philippine-claimed territory—included several military garrisons which could house a few hundred soldiers, and several outposts.

When asked if the structures were a violation of the declaration of conduct, an agreement by claimant countries, Oban said: “These are discussion points in the declaration of conduct of parties in the South China Sea, and these discussions will have to be taken care of by appropriate agency.”

Last week, a navy official who refused to be named reported that unidentified MIG fighter jets, initially believed to be Chinese planes, were seen trespassing Philippine air space over the South China sea. The military and defense department did not confirm, or deny the report.

Both departments, however, acknowledged that the Philippine armed forces is verifying the report, and could not, at the moment, determine if the jets were indeed Chinese planes. Chinese defense minister Liang Guanglie, who visited the Philippines and met with Gazmin and President Benigno Aquino III on Monday, denied that they have MIG fighter jets in their fleet.

Nevertheless, Oban expressed confidence that there will be no eruption of hostile engagement among claimant countries, despite the latest reported intrusions in Philippine-claimed territories.

“The ASEAN and some of the claimant countries have already agreed that we will maintain regional stability here, and we’ll have to turn this into an area of cooperation,” he said.

He added that these structures have shown the need for the Philippines to upgrade the military’s territorial defense capability.

“I’ve said this before, we need to really upgrade our capability, build-up our capacity for territorial defense,” Oban said.

Currently, the Philippine Navy’s floating assets and air force OV-10s conduct regular maritime and air patrols, Oban said. The unidentified fighter jets were reportedly seen by Filipino pilots conducting the periodic air patrol.

The military chief said that the Navy needs 3D, land-based and airborne radars, long range maritime patrol ships, and air defense capabilities to be able to effectively monitor intrusions both in Philippine airspace and territorial waters.

He added that the Navy is currently upgrading its capabilities, but admitted that the process will take a long time.

“Considering our procurement process, that will take some time,” Oban said, but expressed optimism that the military can finish its capability upgrade by 2016.