Palace: Deployment of warship not meant to agitate China

The Philippine government is confident that the deployment of the country’s naval flagship to patrol Philippine territory will not exacerbate the current tension with China over the Spratlys Island dispute. “I do not view this as an agitation and I don’t think the Chinese would view it as an agitation either," said Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, at a press briefing in Malacañang on Monday. He was referring to the Philippine Navy’s deployment of Rajah Humabon to patrol around Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (also South China Sea). The deployment came after China dispatched its largest maritime patrol ship into the area in a move likely to raise tensions with neighbors staking rival claims to waters believed to hold vast reserves of oil and gas. Carandang, however, said the deployment “is really just the exercise of any sovereign country within its own territorial waters." He dismissed observations that the country is flexing its muscles amid the tension with China. Carandang said Rajah Humabon will not go beyond the country’s territorial waters. He said it will be up to the Department of National Defense to determine how long the ship would conduct its patrol operations. On the request of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to Palace spokespersons not to say too much on the Spratlys issue because it is not helping ease the tension, Carandang said they are just doing their job. “Hindi naman natin ina-agitate ang sitwasyon. If you listen to what (presidential spokesperson Edwin) Lacierda and I and (deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail) Valte have been saying about these issues with regards to West Philippine Sea, we’ve been very deliberate in our statements," he said. “Minsan lang siguro nalo-lost in translation yung ibang sinasabi natin at hindi nakukuha ang lahat ng punto, but sa tingin ko naman walang mali sa pagpapaliwanag namin kung ano ang ginagawa ng gobyerno sa isyung ito," he added. He said they are communicating with many audiences, including the international community, as he noted that the issue with China is being dealt with on a number of levels. “There is a level na nakikita ng publiko through the media, there is a diplomatic level, there are discussions also on the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) level, so maraming levels itong pag-address sa issue na ito. At lahat ng elements nito ay mahalaga sa pagpapadala ng mensahe sa ibang mga bansa," Carandang said. — KBK, GMA News