AFP confirms designating WPS exercise zone with other countries for January-March

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday confirmed that it has designated an exercise area in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) for a series of military activities with other countries from January to March.

Philippine Navy spokesperson for WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the designation is covered by notices to airmen and mariners.

“These exercises are well within our exclusive economic zone, areas that we have sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction. It includes Bajo de Masinloc,” Trinidad said.

“It is more than 600 nautical miles from mainland China. No provision of international law supports their claim or their accusation,” he added.

Trinidad noted that more activities and notices will be issued in the coming months.

The Philippine Navy official made the statement amid reports that China was accusing the Philippines of “deliberately stoking maritime tensions” after Manila’s designation of exercise zones in WPS.

Trinidad called China’s claim “baseless.”

“Historically, the Philippines has been on the receiving end of coercive and aggressive actions.We have not claimed what is not ours. We have been, on the other hand, we have received a lot of coercive and aggressive actions,” he said.

“Numbers do not lie. People do. So, facts will tell us that we have not been nor will we be the reason for aggression in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila about the matter but it has yet to provide a statement as of posting time.

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