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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Navy to secure oil exploration drills in WPS vs 'foreign interference'

Navy to secure oil exploration drills in WPS vs 'foreign interference'

Chinese aircraft carrier passes through Luzon Strait

Published Jun 24, 2025 03:58 pm
Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad (Photo: Martin A. Sadongdong / MANILA BULLETIN)
Philippine Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad (Photo: Martin A. Sadongdong / MANILA BULLETIN)
The Philippine Navy (PN) will secure government personnel and private companies that would conduct oil exploration activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“Your Philippine Navy and your Armed Forces are ready to provide security and protection to any effort by the national government to exploit the natural resources within our exclusive economic zone,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN spokesperson for WPS, said on Tuesday, June 24.
Last week, the Department of Energy (DOE) said it hired the drillship “Noble Viking” together with Prime Energy, a natural gas exploration and development company and a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc., to start drilling operations at the Malampaya gas field in the WPS.
The drillship arrived in Palawan on June 19.
The drilling operation was part of the government’s effort to drill new wells and produce new gas supply under the Malampaya Phase 4 (MP4) Project.
Under the MP4 Project, three wells are being eyed to extend the operations of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project: Camago-3, Malampaya East 1, and Bagong Pag-asa-1.
“We are prepared to provide protection to any other party that will be working with the Philippine government and to provide also security against any interference from any foreign power,” Trinidad noted.
“Without going into details, it includes a full package that we could provide,” he added.
As this developed, Trinidad said that the Chinese aircraft carrier “Shandong” passed through the Luzon Strait, confirming a similar observation made by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) on Monday, June 22.
The Shandong aircraft carrier was accompanied by People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) and Chinese Coast Guard ships within the Philippines’ maritime zones.
“They were doing it under [the principle of] freedom of navigation. We were aware that they passed through our waters,” he said.

Related Tags

Malampaya Philippine Navy oil exploration West Philippine Sea Shandong China
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