The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) laid out before President Marcos Jr. a new strategy for its resupply mission at the BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to prevent a repeat of the violent June 17 operation.
The new plan was presented by no less than AFP Chief of Staff, General Romeo Brawner Jr. during the mid-year command conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City last July 4.
“Because of the modern geopolitical conflict that we are facing right now, we need to adjust to the contemporary times. Expect that in the coming operations that we have, there will be changes in how we do things and our operational mix will be different,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said in a radio interview over dzBB on Sunday, July 7.
Padilla did not disclose specific detail as to the adjustment that the AFP will make as well as the date of the next resupply mission so as not to jeopardize it.
However, Brawner earlier said that he directed the troops to "respond appropriately" in case they are once again subjected to harassment by the China Coast Guard (CCG).
It can be recalled that during the last resupply mission on June 17, a Philippine Navy (PN) trooper lost his finger in an “intentional high-speed ramming” by the CCG.
The Chinese forces were also accused of looting and destroying AFP boats and equipment using knives and other bladed weapons, but the CCG maintained that their actions were “professional and restrained.”
This time, Brawner said the troops were green lighted to observe the rules of engagement (ROE) for the next mission which means that they have the right to defend themselves in any manner when placed in a similar predicament.
“We will not use excessive force,” Brawner said, explaining that if the CCG again uses knives to intimidate the AFP, then the Filipino servicemen will also be armed with bladed weapons.
“That's the concept of proportionality so we will not shoot them,” he added.
Meanwhile, the AFP has also prioritized procuring maritime and aerial assets for the third phase of its modernization program, dubbed as “Rehorizon 3”, to raise its deterrence capabilities in the WPS.
“The existing assets that we have for internal security, we are now committing it to external defense,” Padilla said.
“Over and above that, we are procuring with our modernization projects heavily on maritime defense and aerial defense,” she added.