Maritime patrols to continue despite oil price hikes – Navy

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March 17, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Soaring fuel prices will not stop the Philippine Navy from conducting regular patrols in the West Philippine Sea, as it stressed that “sovereignty has no price.”

“Our patrols, our operations will continue because this is our mandate,” Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad yesterday said.

“There are no indicators of reduction (in patrols). In fact today, as we speak, we have a ship in Australia to participate in Kakadu and a fleet exercise over there,” Trinidad said, referring to the BRP Diego Silang which arrived in Darwin, Australia to participate in the International Fleet Review and KAKADU 2026 until March 30.

Trinidad said the Navy has already begun implementing energy conservation measures. “Simple tasks that could conserve fuel, conserve energy, have already been implemented. As to the operational matters of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), I would like to say that sovereignty has no price,” he said.

The Philippine Coast Guard, for its part, is expanding its fuel subsidy distribution program to cover all fishermen across the country as beneficiaries, and not just those earning their livelihood in the West Philippine Sea.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected China’s erroneous and misleading statement that a Filipino diplomat had once acknowledged that Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal was not part of Philippine territory.

“China must be reminded that maritime and territorial claims are subject to established international legal procedures and dispute settlement mechanisms, not through unilateral proclamations or social media posts,” DFA spokesman for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva Jr. said at a press briefing. — Evelyn Macairan