MANILA: The Philippines has stationed a warship off the waters of Palawan island in the South China Sea to “protect its maritime interests,” according to a senior navy officer, a move that may irritate China.
Amid simmering tensions in the disputed waterway, Commodore Edward Ike De Sagon said the ship’s arrival in Palawan “will serve as a reminder to all who would dare to challenge our sovereignty that we stand ready and vigilant.”
It will also “bolster efforts of safeguarding the maritime domain and interests in the country’s western frontier,” said De Sagon in a written statement dated Tuesday but sent on Wednesday.
The deployment of patrol corvette BRP Emilio Jacinto, also known as the PS35, came only days after the Philippines and the United States held joint maritime drills in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have exchanged blame for a series of territorial disputes.
