The Philippines is just exercising its rights within its territorial waters, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday as it expressed belief that the ongoing joint naval and aerial patrols with the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) should not offend any party, including China. AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said the three-day maritime cooperative activity (MCA) scheduled from Nov. 21 to 23 is a peaceful patrol mission aimed at promoting a rules-based international order in the West Philippine Sea. “It is not meant to escalate the tension, and all our actions and intentions are in accordance with international laws and conventions (UNCLOS, COLREGS, CUES),” Aguilar told reporters yesterday, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, and Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, respectively.

Punongbayan, M., Macairan, E., & Cayabyab, M. J. (2023, November 23). 'Phl-US joint WPS patrols should not offend China'. The Philippine Star, pp. 1, 4.