JV Ejercito: Expedite military assets in WPS as China moves closer to Philippine coast
December 15, 2022
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito urged the
government to expedite its build-up of defense forces and military equipment in
the West Philippine Sea as China’s military assets appear to be moving closer
to the Philippines’ coastline.
In his manifestation on Senator Francis
Tolentino’s privileged speech on the West Philippine Sea, Ejercito said the
country needs to improve its minimum defense posture to protect its territorial
integrity.
“This is already a clear and present danger.
Hindi na ito pwedeng balewalain. If you saw the most recent pictures of the
disputed islands, full blown military bases na. Ang dami na. It’s like a city
already,” he said.
“Baka magising tayo, pag pinabayaan pa natin
ito, if we continue to be a laggard, baka yung Palawan ma-annex na nila,” he
added.
To bolster the country’s defense against
external threats, including China, Ejercito asked his colleagues to increase
funding for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its modernization
program in succeeding years.
Recently, the lawmaker from San Juan helped
restore P10 billion worth of funding for projects and procurements under
Horizon 2 of the AFP modernization program.
“I’m quite proud that we have a Senate that is
really fighting for our sovereignty. So, again, next year, maging makulit man
tayo, uulit-ulitin ko, dadagdagan natin ang AFP modernization so that we will
have the minimum defense posture that China will respect,” he said.
Ejercito urged the national government to
procure missiles, advanced combat aircraft, submarines, and naval assets to
force China to think twice before violating the country’s territorial
integrity.
“Ito lang yung wishlist ko, para malaman nila
na hindi tayo pwedeng ibully. We will have anti-aircraft missiles,
surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air, para di nila tayo basta-basta
papasukin ng kanilang aircraft intrusions,” he said.
“Dapat malaman nila na magkakaroon tayo nito,
na hindi sila makakapasok. Magdadalawang-isip sila,” he added.
While the national government has many
priorities to consider, Ejercito argued that the country’s territorial
integrity is “priceless” and should be defended “at all cost.”
“The past few years, the AFP modernization
program has always suffered one of the biggest cuts in the budget. Siguro,
there are priorities. We are a poor nation. We have to probably fund poverty
alleviation programs,” he said.
“But our sovereignty or territorial integrity, this is
priceless. We have to fight for it. This is even our sworn duty as public
officials: to fight for our territorial integrity and protect our sovereignty
at all cost,” he added.
