General Eduardo Año, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a media interview that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is planning to visit Filipino troops stationed and assigned in the West Philippine sea.

General Eduardo Año,

Año told the journalist that “one of the plans of our Secretary of National Defense is to visit our troops there, in his convenient available time. “We will make sure na we are maintaining our presence in the West Philippine Sea and ensure the integrity of our territory.”

“Tuloy tuloy naman yung ating maritime and aerial patrol dito, even ‘yung mga tropa na nakatalaga dito inaalagaan natin,” he said.

One journalist asked, when will the visit takes place, Año said there is no particular date yet.

“Wala pa naman(g date). Kasama lang sa mga plano n’ya,” he said.

Another journalist asked if China has already removed its blockade at Ayungin Shoal, the AFP chief said “there were no confirmatory reports yet.”

“Wala tayong confirmatory reports diyan. He said.

The island of Pag-Asa, seen from a naval Islander plane en route between Pag-asa, known internationally as Thitu, and Puerto Princesa, Palawan, over the South China Sea on August 15, 2013. (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)
The island of Pag-Asa, seen from a naval Islander plane over the South China Sea (Photo by Ashley Gilbertson / VII Photo)

According to Año, this is part of their efforts to show their concern for the Filipino soldiers guarding the country’s territories at the West Philippine Sea. As he also believes the visit will not create any tension in the area which is also being claimed by other countries.

Hindi naman. Ang makapag-up ng tension diyan ay kung meron kang ginagawang military aggressive action. Visiting troops is part of our command activity,” he said. -JCE

SHARE