Defining the News
As the United States reiterated its “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines in case of armed attack, a presidential adviser admitted Tuesday that the situation in the West Philippine Sea is “more intense than before.”
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año talked with his US counterpart, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, on Monday as they discussed the recent spate of “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions” by agents of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia in the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The conversation between Año and Sullivan came after President Marcos announced last week “a response and countermeasure package” against China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. “In the past, there were fewer numbers if vessels being deployed to disrupt our resupply, but now it has increased in number. The distance from where they start blocking or challenging has been further out than before,” Centino, the former Armed Forces chief, said.
“It’s about three to four miles from the shore , and i think there have been changes in the manner or the means that they’ve been disrupting,” he said. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in an open letter that while the Philippines realizes “that accountability is important in the issue on whether or not a so-called ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was forged with China regarding the BRP Sierra Madre and Ayungin Shoal, we Filipinos must not lose sight of the fact that the main threat to our rights in the WPS is the Chinese Government’s illegal activities.
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