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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
June 7, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Teresa Magbanua left for Kagoshima, Japan yesterday to participate in the trilateral maritime exercise with the coast guards of Japan and the United States.
PCG chief Admiral Ronny Gil Gavan said that the exercise will equip Coast Guard members with more knowledge amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
“The departure of the Teresa Magbanua is the realization of the amendment to the memorandum of agreement that we have with Japan that was signed in December 2023, during the state visit of President Marcos… allowing the Philippine Coast Guard and Japan Coast Guard to invite like-minded countries to train with us,” Gavan told the media after the send-off ceremony in Manila.
At the same time, Gavan belittled the possibility that China would respond because of the maritime exercise with the US and Japan, which he said symbolizes the partnership and cooperation among allies in the region.
“We are not really very concerned. We are just doing what we should do. We are concerned about doing the right thing because for as long as we do the right thing, we cannot be wrong,” he noted.
The BRP Teresa Magbanua is the flagship vessel of the PCG.
“How can a search and rescue exercise create instability among nations? How can training on how to enforce the laws create stress among nations? We have to recall that laws are actually a product of compromise among different conflicting interests, so for as long as you adhere to the laws… you are actually pursuing stability and peace,” Gavan said.
He said it is important to train not only with allies but with fellow Coast Guard who are basically the protectors of rule and laws.
“So, the exercise intends to show to the world that the coast guards of the world have this peculiar role to play to keep the peace and stability in this part of the world,” he added.
He said the trilateral training would include rescue exercises, communications and interoperability exercise and maritime law training on board ships.
He said at least 123 personnel from the PCG will join the joint exercises.
“This activity will equip our personnel with the best knowledge and skills on how to protect the rules and the laws (of the sea),” he said.
At the same time, Gavan gave assurance that the country is prepared to protect its territories despite the absence of Teresa Magbanua, which measures 97 meters and the biggest in the PCG’s fleet. The ship will return to the Philippines on June 25.
“We have harmonized our deployment program. We will not compromise territorial security,” he said.
Pro-China vloggers
PCG spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela meanwhile tagged two Filipinos as “pro-China” vloggers pushing for China’s false narrative in the West Philippine Sea.
In the course of the House tri-comm hearing on Thursday, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers asked Tarriela about vloggers who are propagating the China narrative in the WPS.
When asked by Barbers who these vloggers are, Tarriela identified them as Mark Anthony Lopez and Adolfo Paglinawan, whom he described as spreading information “contradicting the factual narrative of the Philippine government when it comes to our fight in the WPS.”
Barbers later asked Paglinawan about his stand on issues in the WPS.
“In your view, who owns the West Philippine Sea, those who erected installations, Mr. Paglinawan?” Barbers asked. “Are we the owner of that (WPS) or them?”
Paglinawan answered, “China has not installed anything to those areas that we occupied.”
“The UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) said it is ours,” Barbers countered.
Tarriela stressed that “we all understand that the 2016 Arbitral Award has already invalidated the historic whatsoever claim of the People’s Republic of China.”
As for Lopez, he once posted on Facebook that the PCG had used water cannons on its Chinese counterpart, when it was the other way around. Facebook subsequently posted a clarification correcting Lopez, who last March apologized to the tri-comm for spreading fake news.
China slams EU
China lashed back at the European Union yesterday over its remarks criticizing Beijing and siding with the Philippines on the issue of the West Philippine Sea.
The spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Manila said “the EU is not a party to the South China Sea disputes and therefore has no standing to interfere in maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, nor to criticize China’s legitimate efforts to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
“We urge the EU to respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and to refrain from actions that could escalate tensions,” the statement added.
China’s remarks were in response to how EU High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy Kaja Kallas, during her visit to Manila earlier this week, declared support for the Philippines amid Beijing’s illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive measures against Philippine vessels and aircraft in the South China Sea. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Michael Punongbayan
