PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines, May 31 (UPI) -- Filipino military commanders are considering new tactics to contest Chinese incursions into disputed regions of the South China Sea.
Filipino Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said following a closed-door meeting with Wescom chief Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban: "We are trying to upgrade our resources to be able to protect our maritime area. It's not easy because we lack funding and so we have to prioritize. We will come up with concrete actions," the Inquirer Southern Luzon reported Tuesday.
The issue is the contested territorial claims on the Reed Bank and the Spratlys group of islands, which both the Philippines and China claim. Defense Undersecretary Eduardo Batac said, "Instructions were for all our forces to be vigilant, to continue with the air and sea patrols in the area and to see to it that there should be continuous dialogues."
Gazmin said: "In the first place, in terms of military resources, wala tayong ibubuga. (We have nothing to show).
"Our preference is to dialogue based on the objective that we avoid active confrontation. Besides, all of our actions (diplomatic protests) are recorded and recognized internationally. In due time, I am sure the international community will take cognizance of these issues."
