AFP still mum on China’s deployment of bombers in South China Sea

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday remained quiet on the recent developments in the South China Sea but assured the public that it will not abandon its mandate.

AFP spokesperson Col. Edgardo Arevalo said they have recently conducted air and naval patrols in the disputed seas but declined to reveal their findings.

“There are matters of national security that we cannot reveal to you because they are necessarily have to be kept in confidence, otherwise we might be violating operational security,” Arevalo told reporters.

China released a propaganda video last week, showing H-6K bombers conducting takeoff and landings believed to be in Woody Island, its largest base in the Paracel Islands.

It was the first reported landing of bombers by China in the South China Sea.

The Philippines comes within the range of the bombers with radius of nearly 1900 nautical miles.

Arevalo said they are drafting a report which will be forwarded to the higher headquarters and authorities at the national level.

“We can assure our people that the Armed Forces will never renege in its constitutional obligation to help secure and defend the territorial integrity of our nation,” he said.

However, the AFP refused to comment on China’s steady buildup in the South China Sea, saying that only the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense could comment on the issue. /vvp