MANILA – Announcing the schedule of the Philippines’ regular rotation and resupply (RORE) mission to its military outpost at the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) will need the approval of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
According to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, the Chief Executive needs to come out with a government policy before it can be done.
Executive Secretary and National Maritime Council head Lucas Bersamin said on Friday that there’s nothing wrong with announcing RORE missions, which shall remain routinary and would be scheduled regularly.
“The policy recommendation that was mentioned by the Executive Secretary, being the chair of the National Maritime Council, is that we will be announcing the routine resupply operations, and is subject to the approval of our President,” Tarriela said.
“Ang ating resupply operation po ay patuloy na gagawin ng Armed Forces of the Philippines at ng Philippine Coast Guard, katuwang po ang mga ahensya ng National Task Force [on the] West Philippine Sea,” he added.
“Second, this resupply operation is, remains to be considered as an ordinary, legitimate, and routine operation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” the PCG official further said.
For months, China and the Philippines have traded accusations over dangerous maneuvers and collisions at Ayungin Shoal, an atoll in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which includes Ayungin Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a warship, Sierra Madre, beached in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claims, with a small crew.
An international tribunal dismissed China’s expansive claims in 2016, but the country has repeatedly said Philippine vessels illegally intrude into waters around disputed shoals./PN
