MANILA: About 18 Chinese vessels are intruding into Philippine territory, raising the need to pour more resources to defence spending, a security official said yesterday.
Vicente Agdamag, Deputy Director-General of the National Security Council Secretariat, said the deployment of the ships is in line with China’s aim to consolidate its control over the West Philippine Sea.
“Right now, there are 18 maritime surveillance ships operating in our area,” Agdamag said during the Air Force’s Air Power Symposium 2013 in Pasay City.
Agdamag did not say what types of ships were deployed and where they are located. He, however, enumerated incidents showcasing China’s aggressive behaviour in the West Philippine Sea. These include the imposition by China of an “exclusion zone” in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, which is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, is 124 nautical miles from the nearest point in Zambales province.
“We have received reports that surveillance ships are imposing a 24-kilometer wide ban on the fishing area so in fact, they are imposing an exclusion zone already in Bajo de Masinloc,” Agdamag said.
Chinese occupation of the Panatag Shoal began on April 10, 2012, when surveillance vessels from Beijing prevented the Philippine Navy from arresting Chinese fishermen who had poached endangered marine species.
Agdamag cited the need to hike the budget for defence spending to enable the country to have a minimum deterrent capability, which he defined as a capability that imposes a risk that a hostile force would find unacceptable.
He recommended increasing the investment for defence by 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP is the sum of all products and services produced by an economy in a given period. It indicates the size of an economy.
Agdamag said at present, defense spending is just equivalent to 1.1 percent of the P2.006trn national budget.
“We are recommending an additional of 0.5 to one percent not only to be at par with our neighbours and more importantly to develop a modicum of a credible defence capability to protect our maritime and strategic interest,” he said.
“We need to enhance to our security alliance with our allies and our neighbours especially the US,” he added. China has been building structures in disputed areas to assert its territorial claims, triggering concerns among other claimants in the region. The Philippine Star
