Latest news with #PhilippineArmy
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
PH Navy: Contingencies in place after Chinese ship ran aground near Pagasa Island
The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said there are contingencies in place in case China deliberately grounded its ship near Pagasa Island. In a press briefing, Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad was asked if the military believes China intended to ground the vessel in the area. 'In the Philippine Navy and in the Armed Forces, we do not deal on speculation. Nevertheless, we have appropriate contingencies in place for any eventuality,' Trinidad said. A suspected Chinese maritime militia vessel with bow number 16838 on Saturday ran aground at Pagasa Reef 1, which is around one nautical mile from Pagasa Island. The Chinese vessel was likely driven into the shallow area due to adverse sea conditions with two to three meters of waves as well as strong winds. A China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with bow number 5102 contacted the Chinese maritime militia vessel during the incident. After three hours, the Chinese vessel was able to free itself without external assistance. 'The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) was able to spot the rubber boat and to check on the safety of life and the equipment aboard the ship,' Trinidad said. 'There was no report initially of the environmental damage. Hindi naman siya ganun katagal nakasadsad doon (It wasn't stranded there for that long),' he added. Earlier, United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the threat from China was potentially imminent as he pushed allies in the Indo-Pacific to spend more on their own defense needs. Trinidad pointed out Philippine agencies have to do their mandate and do not need to wait for China to perform military actions. 'We don't have to wait for any military action to be conducted. Nevertheless, your forces will keep performing its mandate. We have seen in the past how they have been coercive, and aggressive actions done against our Philippine Navy, our forces, and other government agencies,' Trinidad said. 'We will keep performing our mandate not only us, but with support from other like-minded nations,' he added. Meanwhile, the Philippine Army is planning to deploy personnel to the West Philippine Sea features soon amid the ongoing tension in the area. 'Yes, soon. I am just waiting for them to call on the Army. We're ready,' Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Roy Galido said. 'Based on our Katihan exercises, the Army right now is highly mobile and very agile. It can be lifted, a battalion size or 500-men unit, can always be lifted anytime and can be brought to any place in the country,' he added. Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country's claim. The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis." China has refused to recognize the decision. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
Associated Press
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Filipino forces and villagers struggle to live in China's shadow in disputed waters
WEST YORK ISLAND, South China Sea (AP) — Overwhelmed after setting foot for the first time on a far-flung but picturesque island in the disputed South China Sea, a Filipino army official knelt to kiss the shore. She held a small Philippine flag that fluttered in the breeze. 'This is just so beautiful,' Philippines military spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said of West York Island, one of nine islands, reefs and atolls occupied by Filipino forces in the long-contested waters. 'This solidifies our resolve to fight for this place whatever happens.' The 18.6-hectare (46-acre) droplet-shaped island, called Likas by Filipinos, could easily become an eco-tourism draw in tropical Asia with its powdery white-sand beaches, turquoise waters and giant sea turtle sanctuaries. Padilla expressed hope it could someday be opened to Filipino travelers and tourists from across the world. But that longstanding aspiration by Philippine officials has been stymied by a tangle of territorial conflicts involving a militarily superior China. Beijing claims virtually the entire South China Sea, a vital global trade route with rich undersea deposits of gas and oil. It has increasingly flexed its military might, including its navy — the largest in the world — to strengthen its grip on a strategic waterway it says it has owned since ancient times. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan contest China's expansive claims with their own, and the territorial stand-offs have increasingly flared into cat-and-mouse confrontations at sea in recent years. The long-simmering disputes are also a delicate fault line in the regional rivalry between Beijing and Washington. Both former President Joe Biden and his successor, Donald Trump, have condemned China's growing aggression in the contested waters, including its coast guard's use of powerful water cannons, blinding military-grade lasers and dangerous sea maneuvers against the coast guard and navy of the Philippines, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia. Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in mid-2022, the Philippines has intensified a campaign to expose China's increasingly assertive actions by capturing them in video and photographs. The images have then been made public in the hope that international pressure would prompt Beijing to back down to avoid damage to its reputation. The Philippine military invited a small group of journalists, including two from The Associated Press, in a dayslong naval patrol of the South China Sea territories claimed by Manila and on visits to navy and marine forces deployed to guard them. During the patrol, which ended over the weekend, the BRP Andres Bonifacio navy ship carrying the journalists warned a number of Chinese coast guard ships and suspected Chinese militia vessels by two-way radio to move away from Philippines-claimed waters. The Chinese ships responded by asserting their sovereignty in the offshore region without undertaking any provocative actions. On West York Island, two Filipino marines in camouflage uniforms stood guard with M4 assault rifles under a Philippine flag. One used binoculars to scan the surrounding waters for Chinese or Vietnamese ships passing by from a distance. One of the farthest islands in the disputed waters from the nearest Philippine province of Palawan, West York is a difficult and risky post, where Filipino forces see nothing beyond the small island but sea. Military personnel can occasionally call their loved ones during their two-month deployment, but the internet connection is spotty, especially during the typhoon season that starts in June, according to military personnel on the island. They grow eggplants, okra and chili peppers and raise goats and chickens to augment food provisions delivered by navy ships from Palawan. There is a makeshift basketball court to help while away off-duty time and ease the feeling of isolation. 'It's being away from your family,' Padilla said. 'At the end of the day, you go home to an empty room.' Marine Col. Joel Bonavente, who was among the visiting military officials, told AP that military personnel posted in the remote outpost get additional pay to compensate for the 'hazard and loneliness.' On Thitu, the largest Philippines-claimed island, which lies west of West York, civilians have thrived for decades in a small fishing village alongside the military forces. An AP journalist who visited Thitu several years ago saw an island with only a few low-slung wooden and concrete buildings and a gravel airstrip that was being eroded by the constant pounding of waves. There were a few shanties mainlanders had moved to from Palawan in exchange for a monthly government provision of groceries, rice and cash in a bid to grow a civilian community. Dramatic infrastructure improvements have occurred through the years on the 37.2-hectare (92-acre) island, which now has a concrete runway, a huge aircraft hangar, a wharf, a storm shelter and concrete roads running through the fishing village, military encampments and a three-story coast guard surveillance center. A high school building is nearly finished near a seawater desalination facility. 'I want to stay on this island because my blood pressure remains stable without the wide selection of fatty food you find in the city like hamburgers,' said Nenita Bania, a 59-year-old villager who has lived with her husband on Thitu for 12 years. 'Lonely? Not really. It's not the case if you're with family,' she told the AP aboard an air force C-130 aircraft, as she and other villagers hitched a ride back to Thitu from Palawan province. Living in China's shadow in the disputed waters, however, has been challenging, said Larry Hugo, 47, who leads a group of at least 114 fishermen. More than a decade ago, China transformed seven disputed South China Sea reefs into island bases, where Chinese coast guard and navy ships can now refuel and obtain supplies for longer periods far from the Chinese mainland. One of China's artificial islands, Subi, has a military-grade runway and lies just 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Thitu. 'There were no Chinese ships before but now it's a big problem because they are all around our island,' Hugo said. 'They're guarding the reefs where we used to fish, and they block us so we can't venture far.' 'It's very dangerous,' he said. 'We have small boats and we may be run over and that'll be a big problem because we're far from civilization.'
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippines aims to counter China's drone swarm capacity, learn from Ukraine war
The Philippine military is ramping up efforts to enhance its drone offensive capabilities and countermeasures amid growing concerns over China potentially using waves of such unmanned aircraft to assert its claims in contested waters. As part of this push, Philippine and US forces recently tested high-powered microwave weapons during the Balikatan 2025 exercises, designed to neutralise so-called drone swarms. The Philippine military has also begun using Israeli-made intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drones in field operations and unmanned surface vessels in the South China Sea Colonel Louie Dema-ala, spokesman for the Philippine army, said drones armed with explosives or used for surveillance – such as those deployed in the war in Ukraine – had become a focus of Manila's joint military exercises with foreign partners, particularly the US. 'These are all part of subject matter expert exchanges to train our personnel on these new technologies,' he told the Philippine News Agency last month. 'It has always been the plan of the army to be responsive to these new threats and to be cross-domain capable,' he added.
GMA Network
6 days ago
- General
- GMA Network
4 suspected terrorists killed in Northern Samar clash
Four suspected members of the New People's Army were killed in a clash with state forces in Northern Samar, the Philippine Army (PA) 8th Infantry Division said Wednesday. According to the army, the encounter took place in Barangay Nagoocan, Catubig on June 3, Tuesday following reports that armed men were allegedly conducting extortion activities in the area. State forces also recovered three firearms following the encounter. The army said they are working to identify the suspected rebels and are coordinating with authorities to notify their families. Meanwhile, state forces discovered a cache of firearms and explosives in Barangay Roxas, Catubig on June 2. The PA said this is based on information by former rebels who are now under the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program after surrendering to authorities. Authorities recovered two M14 rifles, one M16 rifle, one M653 rifle, three improvised hand grenades, ammunition magazines, a bandolier, a pistol holster and medical paraphernalia. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BAP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
23-05-2025
- GMA Network
Ex-rebel bomb expert surrenders in Maguindanao del Norte — PH Army
An alleged former rebel bomb expert has surrendered to the government in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division (6ID) said in a statement Friday. Commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team (1BCT) Brigadier General Jose Vladimir Cagara said the military will not divulge the identity of the ex-rebel for security reasons. "Ang 35-anyos na dating rebelde ay boluntaryong sumuko bunsod ng matinding takot sa kanyang kaligtasan dulot ng sunod-sunod at pinaigting na operasyon ng militar laban sa kanilang grupo," the 6ID said, adding that his surrender happened on Wednesday. (The 35-year-old former rebel voluntarily surrendered due to extreme fear for his safety amid the continuous and intensified military operations against his group.) "Kasabay ng kanyang pagbabalik-loob, isinuko rin ng dating bomb expert ang mga kagamitang pandigma na kinabibilangan ng isang Uzi 9mm submachine gun at isang 60mm improvised explosive device (IED)," it added. (Along with his surrender, the former bomb expert also surrendered his war equipment which includes an Uzi 9mm submachine gun and a 60mm improvised explosive device (IED).) Major General Donald Gumiran, commander of 6ID, lauded the decision of the former rebel. "Sa halip na maghasik ng karahasan, mas pinili niyang tahakin ang landas ng kapayapaan. Ito ay patunay na hindi pa huli ang lahat para sa sinuman na nagnanais ng pagbabago at bagong simula," he added. (Instead of sowing violence, he chose to walk the path of peace. This is proof that it is not too late for anyone who wants change and a new beginning.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News
