Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has ordered the deployment of Navy ships in the West Philippine Sea as China continues to defy the Philippine government’s demand to leave the Julian Felipe Reef.

AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said the move is to beef up the conduct of maritime sovereignty patrols in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) amid the continuous presence of scores of Chinese militia in the Julian Felipe Reef which the government declared to be well-within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

“By the increased naval presence in the area, we seek to reassure our people of the AFP’s strong and unwavering commitment to protect and defend them from harassment and ensure that they can enjoy their rights over the country’s rich fishing ground which is the source of their livelihood,” said Arevalo in a statement issued on Thursday, March 25.

The order for the deployment of more Navy warships appears to be the first time that the military took a strong action against China over the West Philippine Sea since the standoff between the Philippine Navy and Chinese Coast Guard at the Scarborough Shoal in 2012.

The military order for additional Navy ships, however, is yet to be seen.

On March 7, the Philippine Coast Guard reported the swarming of more than 200 Chinese vessels believed to be manned by China’s militia forces in the disputed West Philippine Sea, specifically at the Julian Felipe Reef. The military ordered the deployment of ships and aircrafts to confirm the report and as soon as it was confirmed, the Philippine government filed a diplomatic protest.

But China, in a statement, said the Julian Felipe Reef, which it called Niu’e Jiao, insisted that it is part of the Nansha administrative district in the South China Sea.

“In the vastness of our maritime domain, the military’s Western Command is the government's ‘eyes and ears’ by providing vital information on what is happening in that part of our country,” said Arevalo in explaining the order of deployment.

“The importance of the data obtained from our littoral monitoring stations, from our Marines manning the islands, islets, and features they occupy, and those from regular aerial and maritime sovereignty that are contained in our reports to the NTF-WPS cannot be over emphasized,” he added.

Arevalo said that aside from deployment of Navy ships, the military is also pursuing a non-traditional means to manage the issues arising in the WPS through a meeting with their Chinese counterparts.

During the meeting, Arevalo said China’s People’s Liberation Army representatives reiterated their government’s assurance that those ships were not manned by militia and that those were constrained to seek shelter in the area when inclement weather hampered their fishing activity.