On November 13, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) monitored 111 Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) swarming the area of Julian Felipe Reef, and this number increased to 125 based on the last monitoring of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
In response to this alarming development, National Security Adviser and Chair of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, General Eduardo AƱo, directed the PCG to carry out a maritime patrol to challenge and document the illegal presence of the CMM in Julian Felipe Reef.
Yesterday, the PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Ronnie Gil L Gavan, deployed PCG vessels, BRP Sindangan and BRP Cabra, to conduct patrols in the immediate vicinity of Julian Felipe Reef.
No response was made to the radio challenges issued by the PCG to the CMM vessels which is now estimated to have grown to more than 135 vessels dispersed and scattered within Julian Felipe Reef.
Julian Felipe Reef is located 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan, and is considered a low tide elevation within the territorial sea of relevant high tide features in the Kalayaan Island Group, including Chigua Reef, over which the Republic of the Philippines has sovereignty.
The PCG maintains its unwavering commitment to safeguarding maritime security, safety and the marine environment in the course of protecting the territorial integrity, sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea in accordance with international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2016 Arbitral Award and Philippine domestic laws.
Admiral Gavan emphasizes that Coast Guard vessels will consistently patrol the West Philippine Sea in collaboration with relevant components of the NTF WPS.
He underscores the PCG's unflinching resolve to fulfill its fundamental patriotic duty as the protector of laws and rules to ensure that all Filipinos enjoy peace and prosperity in all maritime territories and jurisdiction of the country consistent with the policy direction of the President, Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
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