The 2023 budget deliberations and recent legislative hearings once more brought to the fore their observation about our present inability to confront intrusions into the West Philippine Sea and the Philippine Rise. One senator urged “the government to expedite the buildup of defense forces in the WPS.” Another congressman was advocating to stress lethality in the development of this force….
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The worrisome situation that continues to intensify across the Indo-Pacific theater – India-China border, Taiwan Straits, East China Sea, South China Sea – is subverting diplomatic efforts to restore peace and order, and escalating the prospects of an armed conflict due to clashing core interests of the great powers between China and the US. While our interdependent foreign policy seeks…
It would be best to assume that the U.S. would not respond immediately and militarily … A David armed with a sling shot poised to hurl stones at Goliath is a Biblical lore. The presence of an alarmingly big number of Chinese ships, as many as 250+, of which 40 were spotted on 21-March-2021 anchored at Juan Felipe Reef or…
NAVAL STATION JOSE ANDRADA, Manila, September 29 – Philippine Navy (PN) Fag Officer in Command, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo visited the headquarters of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) at South Harbor, Manila as a gesture of affirming stronger inter-agency cooperation. VAdm Bacordo met with PCG Commandant and fellow member of PMA “Hinirang Class of 1987, Admiral George Ursabia Jr,…
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) held a sailing demonstration of the BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301) at the vicinity waters 25 nautical miles off Port of Manila on 15-September-2020. PCG Commandant, Admiral George V Ursabia Jr personally welcomed Philippine National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin N Lorenzana and Philippine Navy (PN) Flag-Officer-In-Command, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo J Bacordo who witnessed the activity….
As an archipelagic State, the Philippines’ maritime interests go beyond the West Philippine Sea / South China Sea, although it usually gets the most public attention. While promoting and protecting the rights of the Philippines in that area, the Department of Foreign Affairs, in particular the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office, has also been tirelessly making efforts in addressing other…
Notably preceded and followed by major military movements, I wonder what would be the impact on RP’s claim on certan islands and sea areas in the SCS. Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), graduate of the US Naval Naval Academy, wrote of the interdependence of military might and seaborne commerce, “whoever controls the sea lanes controls the islands; who controls islands controls…
ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) today released its Half-Yearly Report 2020 (January-June). Highlights of the Report, whose information is verified by the respective government agencies, also known as ReCAAP Focal Points, and regional authorities, are summarized below: Overall Situation 51 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships (comprising 50 actual and 1 attempted incident) were reported in Asia during…
Born on 8-September-1965 in Polomok, South Cotabato, the 27th Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, VICE ADMIRAL GEORGE VILLAREAL URSABIA JR PCG was raised by his parents – the late George Kiamco Ursabia Sr and Guia Villareal-Ursabia to be a person with discipline, perseverance, and a hard worker in pursuing greater heights. He internalized these values, which lead him to…
The recently installed Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, VICE ADMIRAL GEORGE URSABIA PCG is leading the charge towards the future direction of the organization. He is revitalizing the formulation of strategic plans that ensures PCG operations, organizational and capability development are in support of the ends of higher-level national policies, fulfill its five (5) primary mandates, and provide an…
Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has concluded an agreement with the Republic of the Philippines to construct 2 multi-role response vessels (MRRVs). These vessels will be built at Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and are scheduled for delivery to the Philippine Coast Guard in 2022. With a length of about 94 meters, the MRRVs…
The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has stricken a lot of countries globally including the Philippines, affecting people’s welfare, socio-economic condition of the country, and government resilience and thinking on ways to respond to the interconnecting issues brought by this pandemic. This pandemic has led the world to enter into a ‘new normal’ set up under adherence of strict health awareness and…
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance the country’s capability to respond to oil spill in the morning of 24-February-2020. Vice Admiral George Ursabia of the PCG – Marine Environment Protection Command (MEPCOM) expressed his gratitude to the OSRL for their willingness to assist the PCG…
My past research efforts have been mostly directed to Philippine environmental issues, maritime encroachment in Philippine waters as well as maritime safety issues as they impact the Philippines in both the West Philippine Sea as well as the China Sea to the north. I have since broadened my research to not only maritime issues –from the West Philippine Sea to…
In the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre weekly report for 24-30 December, it informed of 3 actual incidents of armed robbery against ships in Asia. Of these, 1 incident occurred while a ship anchored at Panjang Customary Anchorage, Indonesia; and 2 occurred to ships while underway in the Eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait. The…
Without a doubt, the Maritime Industry in the Philippines is a vibrant cornerstone to the local economy and national workforce stability. To some extent, on an international level as well. One doesn’t have to look very far to understand how innovation with efficiency of operation and an ongoing focus to being environmentally sensitive is paramount in maintaining a balance of…
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Reviewing some of my past email, I came across a June 23, 2011 query from a Philippine Marine reserve officer, Frank Suha, who has been living in the United States for many years: There is recent news that PCG is planning to buy brand-new high endurance cutters/vessels – this will be a big help in the West Philippine Sea issue….
The Philippine Coast Guard’s first Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) was formally launched in OCEA shipyard in France on July 17. PCG Commandant Admiral Elson E Hermogino, with the Deputy Chief of PCG Staff for Strategic Studies and Modernization, Captain Ferdinan B Picar, PCG Spokesperson Captain Armando A Balilo, and officials from Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA)…
As part of the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) capability development program, newly acquired rescue boats, vehicles and other equipment were presented yesterday, 30-May-2019, to beef up the agency’s readiness for the expected threats of typhoons that may hit the country this year. During the blessing and launching ceremony at the PCG Headquarters yesterday, the PCG Commandant Admiral Elson E Hermogino,…
With over 2 million square kilometers of coastal and oceanic waters connecting the archipelago, the Philippine fishery is one of the major sources of food and income of the population. This area contains a common property resource – fishery and aquatic – that needs protection for the present and future generations. Recent reports indicate that among the country’s major economic…
The nation and its maritime community join the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in commemorating its founding anniversary in October. Originally created as a civilian bureau in 1901 by the United States, the organization assumed its military character in 1967 by virtue of Republic Act 5173. It used to be one of the Philippine Navy’s major units until its separation in…
Commodore Joel Sarsiban Garcia PCG, PhD, HD, Al-Haj is a graduate of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) and took up Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation, major in Navigational Science. He is currently taking up Bachelor of Laws, Facultad De Derecho Civil, Royal & Pontifical at the University of Santo Tomas. He is a Doctor of Philosophy in Public…
The popular slogan of President Duterte –“Change is Coming” — enthralled the Filipino people, as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rode that wave of change. Indeed, change had come and the PCG welcomed this wave that would break the long standing shortage in PCG maritime assets. The PCG started to change within as modernization of its fleet had began with…
The idea of giving credit where credit is due on the separation of the Coast Guard from the Navy came about when I got the suggestion last year that we should award VAdm. Mariano J. Dumancas Jr. (FOIC, PN1990-93) with a citation for exactly agreeing to help achieve that result in 1992. I missed to include that idea in our…