Panayam kay AFP Spokerperson Col. Medel Aguilar
Panayam kay AFP Spokerperson Col. Medel Aguilar
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00:00 Joint Maritime and Air Patrol of the Philippines and America.
00:03 With me is Colonel Medel Aguilar,
00:06 the spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
00:10 Good afternoon, sir.
00:13 Good afternoon, ma'am,
00:15 and good afternoon to all our viewers.
00:20 Before anything else, what is the main objective
00:23 of the Philippine-US Joint Maritime and Air Patrol
00:29 in the West Philippine Sea?
00:33 If we look at the context of the Joint Air and Maritime Patrol
00:39 that is being conducted in the area of the West Philippine Sea,
00:45 this is our assertion of our sovereign rights
00:49 in our maritime zone,
00:52 and at the same time,
00:53 the promotion of the international convention
00:57 that is in support of rules-based international order.
01:05 Okay, sir, how will this interoperability and cooperation
01:10 be improved between America and the Philippines
01:14 in this maritime cooperative activity?
01:18 We already conducted a passing exercise with the US Navy vessel,
01:25 and it involves, of course, the offering of protocols
01:29 and courtesy that is always executed
01:33 whenever two vessels coming from different countries meet at sea.
01:38 So, and at the same time,
01:39 there will be exchanges of communications.
01:43 There will be maneuvers,
01:46 and those are the kind of activities
01:49 that will make sure that interoperability
01:52 of two naval units is enhanced through this activity.
01:59 So, this is part, actually, of the maritime cooperative activity
02:04 between our forces and the US forces
02:08 which fall under the Mutual Defense Treaty
02:10 or the SEBMDB approved activities.
02:15 Okay, despite these joint exercises,
02:20 China still opposes the right to build infrastructure
02:24 in the region that they claim.
02:27 What can you say about this?
02:30 Maybe the law is clear
02:33 regarding the features that are in the South China Sea,
02:39 and in particular, in the West Philippine Sea.
02:44 China cannot claim sovereignty over these maritime features,
02:47 over this maritime zone,
02:49 because the law says,
02:51 which I'm referring to,
02:53 it belongs to the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
02:57 And therefore, whatever they are doing there is illegal
03:01 and against the law of nature.
03:03 So, although maybe it's better if the DSA
03:08 will explain about this at the same time as the DNR.
03:13 The joint exercises of the US and the Philippines
03:18 last Tuesday in Batanes
03:20 will end today in the West Philippine Sea.
03:23 Can you show us the actions and drills that you have conducted?
03:30 I'm still waiting for the report of the termination
03:33 or the culmination of the maritime cooperative activity.
03:38 So, probably in the interview, future interviews,
03:43 I can already tell what the activities we conducted
03:47 and what we have achieved in that maritime cooperative activity.
03:53 It's the last day of the joint maritime and air exercises.
03:58 What are the next steps that will be taken after this?
04:02 Are there any other joint exercises,
04:05 especially in the next year with America?
04:10 There are many who want to have joint activities with us.
04:16 We are ironing out the necessary terms,
04:22 preferences, agreements,
04:25 so that we will have the right process.
04:31 But the good thing is there are a lot of countries
04:34 that are very interested in partnering with us
04:38 in the conduct of several activities
04:41 that we believe will also help us
04:45 promote our national interest.
04:47 But right now I cannot announce or name specifically
04:53 what are these activities because these are a work in progress.
04:57 We have a question from Zon Ballesteros of IBC 13.
05:02 Because of this PHUS joint maritime cooperative activity
05:06 in the West Philippine Sea,
05:07 is it possible to have this kind of activity
05:11 with other allied countries like Japan and Australia?
05:15 I think I answered that question already.
05:18 There are many who are interested
05:20 and all of these are being discussed and studied
05:23 so that this can be done properly.
05:26 And there is another question from Zon Ballesteros of IBC 13.
05:31 Is this PHUS maritime cooperative activity
05:36 part of the agreement on the annual mutual defense board security engagement
05:43 between AFP and US Indo-Pacific Command?
05:48 The activity that we are undertaking since Tuesday
05:55 is actually part of the approved activities
05:59 under the maritime cooperative activity.
06:03 There is a basis for what we are doing right now.
06:09 Please send a message to our fellow countrymen
06:12 who are watching our program right now.
06:15 First of all, we thank you for your invitation
06:19 that we can share with our fellow countrymen
06:21 the important information about the talks
06:24 that are taking place in the West Philippine Sea,
06:26 particularly this maritime cooperative activity
06:30 which will actually promote our national interest,
06:34 which will develop the capability of the armed forces
06:37 in making sure that our sovereignty and national territory are secured.
06:44 That's all. Thank you very much and best wishes to all of us.
06:47 Thank you very much, Colonel Medel Aguilar,
06:52 the spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.