Navy ready to protect oil exploration within Philippine territory

October 19, 2020

The Philippine Navy (PN) assures that it is ready to protect oil exploration within the Philippine territory after President Rodrigo Duterte authorized its resumption.

"The Philippine Navy is ready to protect our vessels conducting oil exploration or conducting surveys in our areas, in our areas within the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, within the 350 nautical mile extended continental shelf in the Benham Rise,'' said Navy chief

Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo in a virtual press briefing with the Defense Press Corps on Monday morning.

That is part and parcel of our task as your Philippine Navy to protect our own and to protect the conduct of surveys and to protect the conduct of these explorations," added Bacordo.

"We will be prepared for whatever contingencies," Bacordo said.

Presently (we have) continuous conduct of the  exclusive economic zone patrols, the continuous conduct of maritime and air patrols and the continuous improvement of our facilities in the West Philippine Sea, so that we will have a better monitoring and the better response to our vessels conducting these explorations," he added when asked how the Navy plan to secure the Philippine exploration team.

Bacordo said that aside from available assets, the Philippine Navy is establishing littoral monitoring stations at retired gas platforms in West Philippine Sea to monitor the area.

"When requested by the area commanders all Philippine Navy vessels, all Philippine Navy aircraft will be part of the securing of West Philippine Sea and I would like to add also we have inspected the Nido platform and also the Matinloc platforms in the West Philippine Sea and we are putting Navy personnel in that area and also the area command putting their personnel there," he said.

"Initially we develop that into a littoral monitoring station. The Nido platform will watch over the Recto Bank and the Matinloc platform will watch over the Malampaya platform," Bacordo added. Robina Asido/DMS