The continuing harassment of China Coast Guard (CCG) reached an unprecedented level in late March 2024 when three (3) Filipino troops on a replenishment mission were wounded after CCG cutters 21555 and 21551 attacked by water cannons the civilian wooden-hulled supply boat Unaizah May 4 carrying passengers and supplies intended for the Philippine stranded ship BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin…
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Roadmaps are very important in setting the direction of every organization. But what is a roadmap? Austin (2013) defines a roadmap as a document that establishes a plan for accomplishing a particular strategic goal and describes why the goal is in place. The basic road map includes a charter, strategy and an assessment tool. Some people believe that roadmaps or…
n his book “The New Rules of War” Professor Sean McFate describes the post-WWII era as a period of “durable disorder.” He cites the following evidence to support his finding: increasing challenges on the “rules-based” world order; rising number of “fragile” or “failed” states; half of the countries in the world are experiencing some form of conflict; armed conflicts today…
The world’s predominant superpower will always create the conditions to perpetuate its global dominance and weaker nations will always be subsumed by these conditions. Like it or not, that’s just how the world works. It was true during the ancient Byzantine and Roman empires as it was true during the recent British and American empires. How do superpowers create the…
INTRODUCTION. To all distinguished guests from various agencies of government and the private sector, subject matter experts, and all our attendees, a pleasant morning to all. Foremost, I would like to congratulate the Maritime League and the Department of Transportation for spearheading the Blue Economy Annual Trade and Conference, or BEACON 2023. It is my distinct honor to represent the…
In April this year, the President ordered a review of numerous government positions for rightsizing to “upgrade and reskill the workforce in order to improve state services and programs.” The call emanated from the President’s 2022 State of the Nation Address. Consequently several legislators proposed a National Rightsizing Act that is well-aligned with the Revised Administrative Code. The review and…
The world’s predominant superpower will always create the conditions to perpetuate its global dominance and weaker nations will always be subsumed by these conditions. Like it or not, that’s just how the world works. It was true during the ancient Byzantine and Roman empires as it was true during the recent British and American empires. How do superpowers create the…
One of the pillars of the 1995 and the amended AFP Modernization Law is force restructuring and organizational development. The original law focused on external defense given the transfer of the Internal Security Operations (ISO) from the AFP to the newly created Philippine National Police. Through Congressional Joint Resolution No. 28, the ground forces were supposed to be reorganized into…
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….
MAKATI CITY 07-December 2022 – The Philippines hosted the 12th ASEAN Maritime Forum and the 10th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum in Manila on 06 and 07 December 2022, gathering participants from ASEAN and its partners in a two-day discussion on a wide range of maritime issues. Established in 2010, the AMF is a venue for dialogue on a wide range of maritime…
Much has been written about this honorable and patriotic man. He is known as the man who is making the PCG radiate. “R.A.D.I.A.T.E.S.” as an acronym for Responsible, Accountable, Disciplined, Inspired, Able, Team-spirited, Servant leaders, which he always reminds to the men and women of PCG, for them not to forget to pursue professional excellence, have commitment to public service,…
In three separate incidents in the months of March and April, Chinese law enforcement vessels have challenged marine research and hydrocarbon exploration activities within the Philippine exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. Round One: China Squares off with Taiwan and Philippines over Marine Research The Legend, a research vessel belonging to the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute under the Ministry…
Conflicting island and Maritime claims are the subject matters for the South China Sea (SCS) territorial disputes. The sovereign states involved are some ASEAN nations; outside ASEAN would be Taiwan and China. An estimated 3.37 Trillion worth of global trade passes though SCS annually which accounts for a third of the global maritime trade 80mpercent of China’s energy imports and…
Some researchers contend that a sovereign state has three (3) interrelated functions in the maritime domain: maritime safety, maritime security and maritime defense. These functions require legislation, compliance to some international conventions, and executive issuances that are directed to various maritime agencies. Maritime safety, the first function, refers to actions that promote safety of life at sea including search and…
The first time I came across the term “dangerous ground” was during my sea phase training in September 1976 on board BRP Rizal, a fleet minesweeper, when the ship conducted resupply of the marines deployed in Spratlys. The nautical charts then were blueprint copies but one could not miss the words “dangerous ground” printed in the charts in bold letters….
National Security Policy 2017-2022 is a declaration of the government’s commitment to continuously develop a national security system that is rules-based, able to effectively respond not only to security threats but also to opportunities beneficial to the national interest. Enhancing the process, scope, and organizational cohesiveness of the national security system is imperative for the Government, with the support of…
Honored trustees, officers, and esteemed members of the Maritime League, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to all! I would like to begin by thanking the Maritime League and your President and Chairman, retired Vice Admiral Eduardo R. Santos, for the opportunity to address today’s Maritime Conference. Thank you too to retired Vice Admiral Edmund Tan for coordinating…
There have been a number of comments in the domestic discourse on the Ukraine crisis – both on social media and mainstream media – but unfortunately, a discussion of the legal aspect seems to be wanting. An understanding of these issues cannot be sufficiently had without taking into account the pertinent rules of international law. For weeks the United States…
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), through its Maritime Group (PNP-MG), signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will provide better security for the waters of Subic Bay. The MOA signing transpired between SBMA Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino and PNP-MG Director Police Brigadier General Harold B. Tuzon, and was witnessed by Deputy…
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Port Management Office (PMO) of NCR-South, through its Port Police Division (PPD), conducted a live Simulation Exercise (SIMEX) on bomb threat or bomb attack, drug interdiction, and arson scenarios on 8-June-2022 at the Terminal Management Office of Pasig. The simulation was spearheaded by Station Commander Billy L. Estrada, in cooperation and participation by the Philippine…
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) successfully installed five 30-FOOT-LONG NAVIGATIONAL BUOYS CARRYING THE PHILIPPINE FLAG in four critical islands in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) – Lawak Island, Likas Island, Parola Island, and Pag-asa Island. On 18-May-2022, PCG Commandant, CG Admiral Artemio M Abu led the arrival ceremony for the five Coast Guard vessels that laid out the SYMBOLS OF…
In the early 2000s, the AFP created an ad hoc committee to conduct a feasibility study on the acquisition of three (3) 90-meter corvettes offered by a Canadian firm. As former skipper of a similar vessel, I was designated as the vice chair. The “project” did not materialize because the proposal lacked certain requirements. Had the government pursued it, the…
Manila, April 8, 2022—Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the U.S. military gathered today to celebrate the successful completion of Balikatan 22, the 37th iteration of the annual bilateral exercise. Over the last two weeks, nearly 9,000 exercise participants from the AFP and U.S. military trained shoulder-to-shoulder from the northern coast of Luzon to Palawan, focusing…
CEBU-CORDOVA LINK EXPRESSWAY The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) Corporation has announced that it will be open in April-2022. CCLEX is the first toll expressway in the Visayan region of the country and comes with a massive investment of at least Php30 billion pesos. CCLEX will be the third connection between Mactan Island and mainland Cebu. The 8.9-kilometer toll expressway connects…
In August 2017, Chinese coast guard and navy ships were seen close by Sandy Cay, a sandbar neighboring Philippine-occupied Thitu (Pag-asa) Island in the South China Sea (SCS). Then Senior Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Antonio Carpio, warned that Sandy Cay was “being seized (to put it mildly), or being invaded (to put it frankly) by China.” President…