Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Cirilito Sobejana said they will increase visibility of naval assets in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to ensure the safety and security of Filipino fishermen in light of China’s new law ordering its forces to open fire at foreign vessels intruding their territory. “But I just want to make clear that our Navy presence there is not to wage war against China but to secure our own people,” Sobejana said in a televised press briefing on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. Sobejana said China’s new law, which is the subject of a diplomatic protest filed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., is “very alarming.”

Navy to increase visibility in disputed West Philippine Sea. (2021, February 11). SunStar Bacolod, p. 3.