MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said it has not monitored any alleged construction of a supposed Chinese military base in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal). This contradicted a recent statement by Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez who in an interview said China has constructed a military installation in the disputed waters.
“Our monitoring is that the presence of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) Navy, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) and the (Chinese) Maritime Militia (CMM) in Scarborough is there. We have not monitored any construction on Scarborough Shoal except for the presence of the PLA Navy, the Chinese Coast Guard and the Maritime Militia,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), said, noting that they only heard of such claims when brought up by reporters in the press briefing on Tuesday.
From Feb. 15-22, the Philippine Navy reported sightings of 18 Chinese maritime forces mainly PLA Navy ships, CCGs and CMM vessels within the WPS. In Bajo de Masinloc there were four PLA Navy ships and five CCGs, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal had four CCGs, Escoda (Sabina) Shoal had two PLA Navy ships and one CCG while Pagasa Island each had one PLA Navy and one CCG within its vicinity.
Apart from that, Romualdez also mentioned that China has deployed more missiles inside Bajo de Masinloc which the AFP clarified.
“It is safe to assume that warships would be armed with different missiles. So missiles aboard warships could be also the same that would have been what the good ambassador was referring to. Not inside the shoal but on board the ships,” Trinidad said.
Meanwhile, the AFP welcomes all support that would enable it to strengthen its defense posture following the announcement of the US’ plan to deploy more high-tech missile systems to the Philippines after both countries met in Manila for an annual strategic dialogue.
“The AFP welcomes every opportunity to be able to train with modern weapons. That includes missile systems. This is a great stop gap, a great filler while awaiting our modernization program,” Trinidad said.