Increased funding for West PH Sea defense sought

ASSAULT ON THE HIGH SEAS  – Manila has asked Beijing to order all its vessels to leave Ayungin Shoal following the “dangerous maneuvers” made by the China Coast Guard (CCG) to block Philippine ships headed for the BRP Sierra Madre on Tuesday. An image from aerial footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows two CCG vessels blasting their water cannons at Unaizah May 4 (center).  (AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), House Deputy Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II highlighted the need to allocate sufficient funds for the protection of the area in the 2025 national budget. 

Gonzales said the government should prioritize maritime security resources in light of ongoing territorial disputes and security concerns in the WPS. 

“It’s about time that the government recalibrates the allocation of funds to include the necessary resources to protect our West Philippine Sea,” Gonzales, who chairs the House Special Committee on WPS, said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Instead of allotting confidential funds from certain government agencies to the country’s security forces, national leaders should start preparing as early as now since the Department of Budget and Management will soon issue a budget call for 2025. 

“It’s about time when we do the budget, the national government includes this as a major concern. Not only education, not only health, but also the protection of what is supposed to be ours,” the lawmaker stressed, adding that the government should identify the needs of security forces, such as shops, Coast Guard support, helicopters, and other essential resources.

He added that this would help the country avoid further bullying from other regions.

For now, Gonzales said all the Philippines can do is file diplomatic protests.

Gonzales echoed this but reiterated that all the country can do for now is file diplomatic protests. 

No to bullying, continue resupply missions

For her part, Taguig City 2nd District Rep. Amparo Maria Zamora said that the country should continue its weekly resupply mission and resist Chinese bullying tactics. Not doing so would mean “surrender of territorial claims,” she added. 

“Regardless of China’s bullying tactics, we should stand up against bullies, right? It’s crucial that we don’t halt our activities, no matter what harm they inflict upon us,” Zamora said in Filipino. 

Meanwhile, 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, a member of the Special Committee on WPS, said that legislative efforts are already pertaining to the passing of Maritime Zones Law. 

“As for the question of the diplomatic protest being the pinnacle of our response, I will have to say that perhaps we should understand that the Philippine President, as the Chief Architect of Foreign Policy, has the final say on what we can and cannot do,” Gutierrez said.

On Tuesday, the China Coast Guard (CCG) attacked a Philippine vessel again using water cannon on its way to bring supplies to troops in the grounded BRP Sierra Madre.

The attack came after the Philippine vessel and China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels collided  during a “rotation and reprovisioning operation” (Rore) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 

Prior to this, reports said that two Chinese research vessels — Haiyang Dizhi Liuhao and Haiyang Dizhi Liuhao — were spotted “loitering” within the area last March 1, as revealed by an American maritime expert.