PCG monitors 10,000 'trolls' vs PH claims in WPS

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said a total of 10,000 alleged trolls were monitored expressing opposition to the claims of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“When we started the transparency initiative, we can only monitor somewhere around 1,000 trolls,” PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a forum.

“But right now, the trolls in the social media platforms have already increased more than tenfold. In short, there are now 10,000 social media accounts that we are monitoring that counters our position in the WPS,” he added.

Tarriela said these trolls were operating in three levels as influencers or initiators, disseminators, and reposters.

According to him, these trolls were claiming that the Philippines supposedly does not have legal basis  and is the escalator of tension in the WPS.

These trolls were pointing out that the United States is supposedly initiating the fight of the Philippines for WPS.

They were also staging attacks online against government officials who advocate for the Philippines’ position in the WPS, according to Tarriela.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision. — BAP, GMA Integrated News