The Philippine Navy (PN) will continue to exercise self-restraint as with maximum tolerance amid the "many" violations committed by China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, PN Flag Officer in Command, said these are the "best" options to deal with China's reported violations, which they keep a record of.
"We have observed so many violations of China. we are guided by the rule of law. We want to maintain the morale high ground," he said.
Both the Philippines and China are signatories of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which seeks to establish mutually agreed rules in the disputed waters to prevent tensions among concerned countries.
But Bacordo admitted that China has often violated the document.
Citing as example, he noted Chinese vessels have maintained their presence in features claimed by the Philippines in the WPS.
In Scarborough Shoal, Bacordo said there are normally three China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels and three fishing boats "at any given time."
In Zamora (Subi) Reef, there are at least one gray ship, three CCG vessels and several fishing boats while in Mischief Reef, there are usually two CCG vessels and several fishing boats.
China has also militarised some of the Philippine-claimed features in the WPS by building various infrastructures.
This is aside from the passage of Chinese warships in Philippine waters without proper coordination with authorities, a standard protocol, among others.
The most recent violation is the surveillance operations of two Chinese vessels on Recto Bank without the government's consent.
"Our option is the diplomatic protest. Options that may lead to an armed confrontation should be avoided," Bacordo stressed.
The Navy Chief, however, noted that the China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has become "more accommodating" to Filipino soldiers and fishermen since President Duterte came into power in 2016.
That time, the Philippines had just won a tribunal ruling which invalidated China's historical claims in portions of South China Sea now called the West Philippine Sea.
"When President Duterte assumed as the president, the PLA Navy has been more accommodating unlike before," Bacordo shared.
He said the Chinese Navy used to harrass Filipino soldiers in Philippine-occupied areas in the WPS using its so-called "cabbage strategy," where they overwhelm hostile navy vessels in any of the areas they claim by deploying a massive number of ships to drive away the enemies.
The same military tactic was also used to deny Filipino fishermen from fishing in the WPS.
"None of that is happening right now. We conduct rotation and replenishment (RORE) of our personnel without Chinese intervention. While they may be four miles or five miles away quietly observing, they have not intervened in any of our RORE," Bacordo said.
But during instances where confrontations could never be avoided, Bacordo said the Chinese Navy seems to provoke the PN "to fire the first shot," a bait that they will not take.
For example in February 2020, a Chinese corvette pointed its radar gun towards BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39), thus alarming the Filipino sailors.
"The way I analyze it in our disputes in the area, the first one to fire the shot becomes the loser. They will do everything for us to take aggressive action," he said.
"There are some activities that once you do it, you can no longer take it back and that is firing the shot," he continued.
But Bacordo said that "nothing" will stop them from protecting the interests of the Philippines in the WPS.
And if China continues to prevent them from patrolling the disputed areas?
"Then we will continue to practice self-restraint."