By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News
Published April 11, 2021 9:37am
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez expects more US vessels to arrive in South China Sea. In a Dobol B TV interview, Romualdez said US vessels are being deployed in the disputed waters to uphold freedom of navigation. US freedom of navigation operations ay tuluy-tuloy yan (will continue). They ve been increasing it in the past several months . precisely to protect the seaway there, he said. Freedom of navigation [means], any vessel can pass through there without any harassment or any stop from any country, he added.
Published April 7, 2021, 3:30 PM
While it welcomed the presence of the US Navy’s Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG), the Department of National Defense (DND) stressed the need for restraint in order not to aggravate the already tense situation in the South China Sea amid the aggressive actions of China to assert its claim vrtually in the entire area.
(AFP / FILE PHOTO)
Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong also appealed for calm from all the nations that are not only involved in the territorial dispute but also other countries which have been very vocal in China’s flexing of military muscle in the South China Sea.
Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate
(Bayan Muna Party list Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Zarate said China’s “saber-rattling” by threatening a “strong response” against the Philippine military and the evidence increase of military presence of western powers such as the April 4 entry of the US Navy’s Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG) could escalate into a serious conflict.
“In this light, we are calling for a complete demilitarization of the South China Sea amid the ramping up of military and naval presence by China, US and other western powers in the disputed maritime region,” Zarate said.
“The recent aggressive and expansionist actions of China is now apparently being taken as a cue by western powers, particularly the US, France, etc., to increase its military and naval presence in the region,” the lawmaker stressed.
PETALING JAYA: The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has joined in a bilateral exercise with the US Navy s Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group over the South China Sea.
It was the first bilateral exercise between Malaysia and the United States in 2021, according to the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and the Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 had engaged in Dissimilar Air Combat Training with the RMAF, which took place on Wednesday (April 7).
Capt Michael Langbehn, who is the Carrier Air Wing 11 commander, said both countries had the opportunity to hone their tactics and enhance their ability to work side by side.