MANILA: Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Thursday urged the government to beef up the country’s defense forces and military equipment in the West Philippine Seas (WPS), warning that China might annex Palawan “as it appears that they are moving closer to our territory.”
Ejercito proposed for the national government to procure missiles, advanced combat aircraft, submarines and naval assets to force China to think twice before violating the country’s territorial integrity.
“Ito lang yung wishlist ko, para malaman nila na hindi tayo pwedeng i-bully. (This is my wish list, so that they know that we cannot be bullied) We will have anti-aircraft missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air, para di nila tayo basta-basta papasukin ng kanilang aircraft intrusions (So that we are safe from their aircrafts),” he said.
Ejercito’s statement came after a privilege speech of Senator Francis Tolentino in the Senate’s last session that showed China’s military might be entering the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), that is why the country needs to improve its minimum defense posture to protect its territorial integrity.
“This is already a clear and present danger. Hindi na ito pwedeng balewalain (We cannot ignore this). If you saw the most recent pictures of the disputed islands, full blown military bases It’s like a city already. Baka magising tayo, pag pinabayaan pa natin ito, if we continue to be a laggard, baka yung Palawan ma-annex na nila (One day we may wake up, if we ignore this, they will annex Palawan),” Ejercito said in his statement.
He urged his colleagues to increase funding for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its modernization program in succeeding years to bolster the country’s defense against external threats, including China.
Ejercito is also credited for the restoration of the PHP10 billion funding for projects and procurements under Horizon 2 of the AFP modernization program.
“I’m quite proud that we have a Senate that is really fighting for our sovereignty. So, again, next year, maging makulit man tayo, uulit-ulitin ko, dadagdagan natin ang (we have to be persistent, I repeat, we must increase) AFP modernization (fund) so that we will have the minimum defense posture that China will respect,” he said.
While the national government has many priorities to consider, Ejercito said the country’s territorial integrity is “priceless” and should be defended “at all cost.”
“The past few years, the AFP modernization program has always suffered one of the biggest cuts in the budget. Maybe there are priorities. We are a poor nation. We have to probably fund poverty alleviation programs,“ he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
