Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has once again made the case for the putting up of a EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) naval site in his province amid China’s continued incursions in Philippine waters.

In a statement over the weekend, Barbers blasted Beijing's continuing disrespect to the country’s sovereignty by deploying without permission three research "or probably spy vessels" near Siargao Island and Davao Oriental last month. 

The overall quad-comm chairman called this an intrusion within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“Ito (Chinese vessel intrusion in the Eastern Seaboard) ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit hinihiling ko sa ating gobyerno, partikular na sa defense department, na maglagay ng EDCA naval site sa aming probinsya,” he said. 

(The Chinese vessel intrusion in the Eastern Seaboard is one of the reasons why I'm asking the government, particularly the defense department, to establish an EDCA naval site on our province.)

Surigao del Norte, Barbers said, sits directly on the country’s eastern waters and the Pacific Ocean. It faces continuing threats from drug smugglers, spy vessels, and other foreign intruders. 

“The province’s distinct advantage to have an EDCA naval site is that it is openly facing the Pacific Ocean and had an outlet to the West Philippine Sea (WPS), and ships can traverse the country from east to west and vice-versa without the need to circle around,” he explained.

At 7:40 a.m. Saturday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the National Task Force for the WPS monitored the three Chinese ships - Xiang Yang Hong 3, Jia Geng and Xiang Yang Hong 10 – at about 211 nautical miles (nm) east of Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte.

The three Chinese vessels entered the country’s EEZ on Nov. 20, then near Siargao Island and Davao Oriental on Nov. 14. Three days earlier or on November 17, they were spotted 257 nautical miles near Sta. Ana, Cagayan. 

The Surigao del Norte solon, together with his brother Surigao del Norte Rep. Lyndon Barbers, earlier invited Filipino and American military officials to check out their province as a possible next EDCA naval site following the building of similar naval facility in Casiguran, Aurora to protect Benham Rise or Philippine Rise. 

“While the Defense Department under Secretary Gibo Teodoro considers the Casiguran EDCA site to be playing an important role in guarding the country’s eastern seaboard, I think it’s not sufficient enough. We need another EDCA naval site in Surigao del Norte to cover and protect the vast eastern seaboard from drug smugglers and foreign intruders,” he said.