Chinese militia vessels sa Julian Felipe Reef nabawasan

CNN Philippines

Kumaunti na ang Chinese maritime militia vessels na namataan sa Julian Felipe Reef sa West Philippine Sea matapos isiwalat ng Coast Guard at Armed Forces ang iligal na presensya ng mga ito.  Handa naman ang France na makilahok sa pinag-uusapang multilateral patrols sa pinag-aagawang teritoryo.  May ulat si Tristan Nodalo.   Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 The Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines

00:04 considered the drop in the number of Chinese maritime militia vessels in Julian Felipe Reef

00:09 from more than 135 vessels that were first monitored in Bajura

00:13 from November until last weekend.

00:16 As of our last count, there are only 28.

00:20 They drastically reduced from a high of 135 Chinese militia vessels.

00:27 In a hearing of the House Committee on the West Philippine Sea,

00:30 some lawmakers questioned why the authorities' response to this was so slow.

00:37 So, 135 in November 5 and 6, and then you reacted in December 2.

00:43 Don't you think our reaction there was too late?

00:46 The deployment of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines

00:50 on a rotational basis, with the very limited assets that we have,

00:54 just to emphasize, we only have three vessels in Palawan.

00:57 And if you can just imagine how vast the West Philippine Sea is,

01:01 we cannot expect that the Philippine Coast Guard will be there 24/7

01:04 in Julian Felipe to watch over the swarming of the Chinese maritime militia.

01:09 In the ongoing tensions in the West Philippine Sea,

01:11 France is one of the countries that is focused on what is happening in the region.

01:15 Because of what's going on in the region and particularly the West Philippine Sea,

01:19 we are concerned. We cannot but be concerned.

01:24 That is why the defense and maritime security cooperation

01:28 that France is promoting is one of the Philippines'.

01:31 The two countries have agreed to start negotiations for a defense agreement

01:36 when French Minister for the Armed Forces,

01:38 Sébastien Lecornu, visited Manila recently.

01:41 We will start as soon as possible. And I would say we are ready to start.

01:48 Then the experience probably shows that this process can take time

01:53 because you enter into very specific legal and also military details.

02:00 It is also possible to join the agreement on the deployment of France

02:03 in maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea.

02:06 But we were ready to already.

02:09 It will cover and can cover all the fields of strategic armed forces,

02:16 air force, navy, interoperability of systems, etc.

02:22 We can do more.

02:23 The evolving cooperation between France and the Philippines

02:35 in terms of defense and security,

02:37 what kind of message does it actually send to the rest of the region

02:42 or in the Indo-Pacific region?

02:44 Well, thank you for recalling that indeed there is a political will

02:48 to strengthen the bilateral relationship in the field of defense.

02:52 It's kind of natural to be more concerned.

02:55 And we are particularly concerned when there is a risk under international law.

03:02 The French government also targets to have a defense mission

03:05 and defense attache in Manila next year.

03:08 Tristan Udalo, CNN Philippines

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