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Maritime militias to be deployed in West Philippine Sea — Navy chief


The Philippine Navy is set to deploy maritime militias in the West Philippine Sea to help in securing the country's territorial waters, Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said Monday.

Bacordo told reporters that the maritime Cafgu Active Auxiliary (CAAs) has been existent for a long time. He said the Navy is eyeing to start the deployment with a baseline of 120 troops per naval forces.

"When I was in naval forces Western Mindanao way back in 2013, 2014, 2016, we already have the maritime CAAS in Western Mindanao and also in Eastern Mindanao," Bacordo said at a virtual press conference.

"It's like having the concept of CAAS of the Army which is operating on land. If you operate on water, that's the area of the maritime CAAS. We intend to have our maritime CAAS in all of our naval forces which will be an additional contribution to the area command," he added.

The Navy chief explained that maritime militias could stay in a certain area for a longer period. He noted that deploying maritime militias is a kind of "stop gap" measure.

Bacordo said the deployment could also help in protecting Filipino fisherfolks who are often harassed by Chinese forces in the region.

"We cannot be at a specific area for long so if we patrol let's say the Bajo De Masinloc area... after a while that same ship will be recalled to patrol the West Philippine Sea or patrol the Benham Rise, whereas the maritime CAAS can stay longer in an area because that is their place of abode," he said.

"We don't have the capability to be everywhere, our maritime CAAS like our reservists... they are our force multipliers, they can fill in in our absence," Bacordo said. 

Based on residence

The deployment will be based on the place of residence of the militiamen, according to the Navy chief.

"The importance of these maritime CAAs is kung saan sila, doon lang sila, kung taga-Pangasinan ka, your concern is Pangasinan waters," Bacordo said.

Bacordo said the deployment could also help in protecting Filipino fisherfolks who are often harassed by Chinese forces in the region.

"We would like to look at it as a deterrence for them to continue bullying or harassing our fishermen... they're not the offensive..." Bacordo told reporters in a separate ambush interview.

He also said the discussion in the rules of engagement would be included the training of the maritime militias.

"Very important there is the rules of engagement... so in the training, we will give importance to the rules of engagement in that area..." Bacordo said. — RSJ, GMA News