Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. paid a visit at a naval detachment in Aurora province on Thursday, March 14, nearly two weeks since the sighting of two Chinese research vessels at the Philippine Rise in the eastern seaboard of the country.

Teodoro, together with officers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), visited a detachment of the Naval Installations and Facilities-Northern Luzon (NIF-NL) in the coastal town of Casiguran.

The naval detachment was constructed in 2022 and facilitated by the Philippine Navy in cooperation with the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO).

"The naval detachment... will boost the AFP's presence in the area and enhance security in the Philippine Rise and Philippine Sea in line with the country's Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC)," Teodoro said.

During his visit, Teodoro met with Director Maria Cristina G. Suaverdez of the APECO Board of Directors, along with the officers of NIF-NL, to discuss continuing efforts to guarantee the country’s control over the resources in the Philippine Rise.

The detachment of the NIF-NL in Casiguran, Aurora includes a typhoon resilient main building with complete amenities, a radio room, and armory, all situated in a 5,362.50-square-meter space.

Also part of the facilities are eight units of 20-footer and two units of 40-footer container vans converted into navy personnel barracks with four units of toilets and four units of shower stalls, four units of guard houses, a sewage treatment plant, and perimeter fence.

The barracks are also equipped with a 100-KVA generator, a reliable water source, and solar panels with batteries as alternative source of energy.

The facilities aid the country’s naval forces in their duty to secure the country's maritime control over the Philippine Sea, where the 13-million-hectare undersea region of Philippine Rise is located.

Teodoro's visit came after two Chinese research vessels were spotted loitering in the Philippine Rise.

On March 1, American maritime security analyst Ray Powell posted satellite images on X (formerly Twitter) of Chinese research vessels he identified as “Haiyang Dizhi Liuhao” and “Haiyang Dizhi Shihao” while they were sailing across east southeast of Luzon Strait.

The two vessels, according to the retired US Air Force officer, left port at Longxue Island in Guangzhou on February 26 and were spotted "loitering" in the northeast corner of the Philippine Rise, inside the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad had said no law was violated when the Chinese research vessels sailed near the Philippine Rise.

He said the vessels need not to ask permission from the Philippine government when they passed through the Philippine Rise inside the Philippines' EEZ as it is considered part of the freedom of navigation.

However, President Marcos believes that the presence of the Chinese vessels in the Philippine Rise was "a clear intrusion" into the Philippine maritime territory, adding that it was "as usual, of great concern."

Aside from the detachment in Casiguran, Teodoro also visited the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Terminal Management Office in Dingalan town.