The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will establish a joint patrol plan for the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

AFP Chief, General Romeo Brawner Jr. made the remark on Tuesday, Aug. 12, a day after the collision of Chinese coast guard and navy vessels in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal).

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard will hold a conference and we will ask guidance from our President [Marcos Jr.],” Brawner said. “We have a lot of options that we can take, including the deployment [of gray ships].”

He attributed the Aug. 11 collision between a China Coast Guard vessel and a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) warship near Bajo de Masinloc to China’s aggressive maneuvers while pursuing PCG ship BRP Suluan.

“It clearly shows the aggressive tactics of China. Our assessment is that the PLA-Navy ship was trying to ram our PCG ship. That’s the assessment as well of the PCG. It’s really fortunate that the PCG ship quickly evaded the PLA-Navy and Chinese coast guard. But as a result, it was the Chinese vessels that collided,” he said.

“The fault lies in the aggressive maneuvers of China,” he added.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesperson for WPS, said two Philippine Navy (PN) ships were present in the area when the collision occurred. "We do not look at this as a singular incident. From the onset, the illegal presence of the PLA-Navy, their coercive and aggressive actions, and the deceptive messaging (ICAD) have been the cause of concern. And so long as they maintain their ICAD activities and presence, incidents like this may happen again in the future."

To prevent a scenario that could possibly harm PCG personnel and vessels due to China’s aggression, Brawner is considering deploying gray ships in Bajo de Masinloc whenever PCG patrols the area.

The joint patrol between the AFP and PCG has been a long time coming.

The military chief recalled the standoff between the Philippines and China in Bajo de Masinloc which forced the PN to withdraw its forces from the shoal.

In 2012, (PN) ship BRP Gregorio del Pilar spotted several Chinese fishing vessels illegally collecting corals, giant clams, and live sharks inside Bajo de Masinloc, which lies well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but is also claimed by China.

A standoff ensued as the PN tried to arrest the Chinese fishermen but was blocked by Chinese vessels.

Eventually, an agreement was reached by the Philippines and Chinese governments that they would withdraw their vessels from Bajo de Masinloc. The Philippine side adhered to the agreement, but the Chinese did not and they refused to leave the area since then, Brawner recalled.

“It’s really a violation of the agreement that we had in 2012,” he said. “Now, we have seen that China’s tactics have changed. They are now obviously deploying their People’s Liberation Army-Navy ships and this is a symbol of their aggression.”

Brawner is expected to pitch to Marcos the deployment of AFP warships in Bajo de Masinloc if only to reinforce the PCG during its patrol missions.

However, the same proposal was already shut down by Marcos last year. In December 2024, Marcos insisted that the Philippines is not at war, hence, the presence of warships is not needed.

“We are not at war. We don’t need Navy warships,” Marcos had said on Dec. 9, 2024. “It (sending of warships) will be provocative and will be seen as an escalation. We don’t do that. The Philippines does not escalate tensions. Quite the opposite, the Philippines always tries to bring down the level of tension.”

Whether or not the Chief Executive will have the same view depends on the outcome of the AFP and PCG’s meeting and the proposal for the joint patrol that will be offered by Brawner. The date of the meet-up was not immediately disclosed.

Aside from this, the AFP is also considering adding Bajo de Masinloc to the list of areas for joint patrols with allied countries.

“Remember that we are not alone in this region. We have other players in the region. We may come together to deter the aggressive actions by China,” Brawner said.