00:28.4
How can they be able to silence this administration
00:31.7
for, once again, convince us to follow their narrative?
00:37.3
Pero hindi ba mas nakatakot pag ganyan yung cornered beast ng China?
00:41.2
Baka gagawa sila ng mas marahas na bagay or more violent strategies?
00:46.6
Are you worried about the risk of this getting out of control?
00:49.4
Or do you think na fearmongering lang yung mga ganyan diskusyon?
00:52.8
I think that's different.
00:55.2
We cannot also say that they are cornered beasts.
00:58.4
I think you can fairly say na masasabi mong,
01:03.3
ang isang cornered beast has something to do with their own national security,
01:08.8
their economic survival.
01:10.7
Pero dito, hindi naman, it doesn't,
01:15.6
what we are doing of exposing their illegal actions
01:18.5
doesn't define their national survival.
01:21.8
What defines here is we are just exposing their illegal aggression.
01:28.4
we cannot say na they are a cornered beast.
01:31.6
What we can do here is that we are telling the beast na
01:36.5
for you to be able to be considered as somebody that can go along with other beasts,
01:44.2
you have to abide with the international law.
01:46.7
You have to fall in line and you should not bully your way out to justify your action.
01:52.5
Now, for the sake of argument,
01:53.8
anong sinisabi ng China na meron daw silang gentleman's agreement sa dating administration?
01:58.4
na ang Pilipinas daw yung provokator,
02:01.0
tayo daw yung pasaway,
02:03.0
eh sila naman daw,
02:03.8
sumusunod naman sila sa mga agreements nila with the previous administration.
02:07.4
Anong understanding na sa Philippine Coast Guard when it comes to the gentleman's agreement?
02:14.4
I'm just a Coast Guard officer,
02:16.4
the way I understand it,
02:18.2
the commander-in-chief,
02:19.9
the chief architect of our foreign policy,
02:22.9
has already spoken.
02:23.9
He said that he's not aware of such gentleman's agreement,
02:28.4
but, if there was any,
02:31.4
he is already rescinding it.
02:33.4
He said that last year already,
02:35.4
unfortunately, may mga tao lang na gustong ibalik-balik itong issue na ito, eh.
02:39.4
Kung baga, we're stuck in that debate,
02:41.4
whether there was really a secret deal,
02:43.4
there was a new model,
02:45.4
whatsoever na sinisabi nila,
02:47.4
but the mere objective of this kind of fake news
02:50.4
is only to sow discord and disunity among the Filipino people.
02:54.4
Kung baga, nililito lang naman tayo nitong mga ito.
02:56.4
So, once and for all,
02:57.4
kung baga, nililito lang naman tayo nitong mga ito.
02:58.4
So, once and for all,
02:59.4
for the Philippine Coast Guard,
03:01.4
the National Government Agencies,
03:03.4
and the National Task Force West Philippine Sea,
03:06.4
itong mga issue ng gentleman's agreement na nilalabas nila,
03:09.4
this is part of their propaganda.
03:11.4
We don't have to spend so much time, no,
03:14.4
to try to explain our position.
03:16.4
The President has already spoken,
03:19.4
That's already the end line of this argument.
03:21.4
And pagdating dito,
03:26.4
what do you think will be China's next move?
03:28.4
Magre-re-calibrate pa sila?
03:30.4
Or do you think they're just gonna keep on doing the same thing
03:33.4
until they'll get different results?
03:35.4
Because ako, my interpretation is
03:38.4
they were very affected by the term bully, right?
03:41.4
I never saw China na ganyan yung response sila,
03:43.4
na hindi kami bully, very defensive sila.
03:45.4
Baka natamaan talaga sila doon sa
03:48.4
the way they came off as very aggressive and bullying.
03:51.4
What's your understanding there?
03:53.4
Well, for me, you know,
03:55.4
the Chinese government,
03:58.4
and then if you're going to ask
04:00.4
how the national task force was built in sea,
04:03.4
we'll respond to whatever recalibration
04:05.4
that they're going to do.
04:08.4
We can see naman eh,
04:09.4
what are the changes now compared before
04:12.4
sa nagiging approach nila with our transparency.
04:15.4
They're just basically increasing their information operation.
04:18.4
They're just engaging more trolls
04:20.4
to counter our factual narrative.
04:22.4
And if this will be the calibrated approach
04:27.4
of China in countering the transparency strategy,
04:31.4
ang sabi nga ni NSA,
04:32.4
this is very easy for the national government to respond to.
04:35.4
We're just going to keep on telling the truth.
04:39.4
We're just going to continuously embed foreign journalists
04:42.4
to be our truth-tellers,
04:44.4
to tell the world what's really happening.
04:46.4
And this is the reason kung bakit ang China
04:48.4
is also, you know, not even the Chinese,
04:51.4
and not just even the People's Republic of China,
04:54.4
but even their pro-China allies,
04:57.4
ang mga trolls are saying na
04:59.4
ang mga media daw na ini-embed natin
05:02.4
are actually the reason why China is being provoked.
05:06.4
But this is what we're going to continue doing.
05:09.4
So in short, ang sinisayawang nangyari dito
05:11.4
is parang ginagaslight tayo ng China.
05:13.4
Parang tayong sinisisi for doing what's right.
05:16.4
Sinisisi ang mga media for reporting the truth.
05:19.4
So this is a classic case of gaslighting.
05:22.4
Now, just for the purpose of education,
05:24.4
siguro kasi mga ibang kaubayan natin
05:26.4
hindi pa rin nila nag-gets.
05:27.4
Bakit? Ano yung division of labor
05:29.4
sa pagitan ng Philippine Coast Guard
05:31.4
tsaka yung Philippine Navy?
05:33.4
Diba, yung Philippine Navy naman daw
05:35.4
yung gumagawa ng resupply.
05:36.4
For instance, doon sa Ayung Insyol,
05:38.4
hindi ba sila yung may obligasyon
05:41.4
or mandato na protektahan yung ating karagatan?
05:44.4
What is the coordination between
05:46.4
the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy?
05:48.4
And is it evolving over time?
05:50.4
Is it changing? Is it flexible?
05:52.4
Ano yung division of labor nangyari dyan?
05:53.4
Well, first of all, Richard, no?
05:56.4
The change of deploying White House
06:01.4
is not something that happened overnight.
06:04.4
And it's not something that we can just attribute
06:06.4
to President Bongbong Marcos.
06:08.4
The very origin of the deployment of Coast Guard vessels
06:14.4
started and goes back during the time
06:16.4
of President Noynoy Aquino.
06:18.4
Of course, there was a standoff
06:20.4
and were in the propaganda of the Chinese saying
06:25.4
we are militarizing a simple issue of fishery law enforcement
06:31.4
when the Philippine Navy decided to board
06:34.4
one of the Chinese fishing vessels in Bajo de Masinlo.
06:37.4
And that resulted to a standoff.
06:42.4
And in 2013, President Pinoy also realized
06:47.4
the importance of deploying White ships instead.
06:50.4
That's also the reason why when he went to Japan in 2013,
06:54.4
that's his first request to Prime Minister Abe
06:57.4
to support the Philippine government
06:59.4
for the acquisition of Coast Guard vessels.
07:01.4
That's the 1044-meter vessels that we see now
07:05.4
and, of course, the 297-meter vessel.
07:08.4
During the time of President Aquino,
07:10.4
there are two main reasons why he did that.
07:12.4
Of course, learning what happened from the Scarborough Shoal standoff,
07:16.4
the Chinese propaganda of not militarizing the dispute.
07:21.4
And second is the regional norm.
07:23.4
You also have to understand the fact
07:25.4
that it's not just the Philippine Coast Guard
07:28.4
that is being deployed in the South China Sea.
07:31.4
You can also find the Vietnamese Coast Guard,
07:33.4
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency,
07:35.4
or the Malaysian Coast Guard,
07:37.4
and also in Natuna Island,
07:39.4
with Indonesia also having trouble with China,
07:42.4
that they are deploying Bahamla,
07:44.4
a White ship as well.
07:46.4
So this is the regional norm
07:48.4
that nobody is going to militarize the South China Sea.
07:51.4
This is primarily the regional norm.
07:53.4
This is the reason why the Coast Guard vessels
07:55.4
have been deployed during the time of President Aquino.
07:58.4
And then came President Duterte's time,
08:01.4
that's the time that our ships arrived from Japan.
08:05.4
And to be fair with President Duterte,
08:08.4
he has also relied on the Philippine Coast Guard vessels
08:11.4
to be deployed and modernization of the Coast Guard
08:15.4
during the time of President Duterte.
08:17.4
And also, right now, during the time of President Bongbong Marcos.
08:21.4
So that explains why Coast Guard is being deployed
08:24.4
in the West Philippine Sea.
08:26.4
But, we should not also discount the fact
08:30.4
that the Philippine Navy,
08:32.4
or the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
08:34.4
they are actually playing a much more important role
08:37.4
than the Philippine Coast Guard.
08:38.4
I always say this to Richard,
08:40.4
for the Philippine Coast Guard,
08:42.4
we can just carry out, maintain our presence
08:45.4
in the West Philippine Sea.
08:47.4
But when we talk about the territorial defense,
08:49.4
when we talk about,
08:51.4
the hard security part of it,
08:54.4
these are warships of the Philippine Navy
08:57.4
or the fighter planes of the Philippine Air Force,
09:00.4
this is something that the Philippine Coast Guard
09:02.4
will never take away from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
09:05.4
When we talk of defense and security,
09:07.4
that's actually for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
09:10.4
But when we talk about maritime governance
09:12.4
and maintaining our presence
09:14.4
in our own exclusive economic zone,
09:17.4
then the Philippine Coast Guard can perform this kind of roles.
09:20.4
So mayroon kayong optimal coordination
09:22.4
pagdating sa defense of our territorial waters
09:25.4
and sovereign rights?
09:26.4
Well, the National Task Force West Philippine Sea
09:28.4
is a very effective interagency task force
09:32.4
chaired by the National Security Advisor,
09:34.4
Jea Eduardo Año.
09:36.4
Being a former Chief of Staff,
09:38.4
being a former DILG Secretary,
09:41.4
he has a much more, you know,
09:44.4
very diverse appreciation of
09:50.4
forces between maritime law enforcement
09:55.4
and also in engaging other government agencies.
09:58.4
So under Jea Eduardo Año
10:01.4
as our chairman for the National Task Force,
10:03.4
he is very effective in having a whole-of-nation approach
10:07.4
in addressing the issue in the West Philippine Sea.
10:11.4
Pwede pa kayo explain?
10:12.4
Ano itong whole-of-nation approach?
10:13.4
Ang ibig sabihin niyan,
10:14.4
hindi lang yung gobyerno,
10:15.4
ibang ahensya ng gobyerno,
10:17.4
pero involved din dapat yung taong bayan,
10:19.4
civil society groups,
10:21.4
Well, one good example of this is
10:24.4
whenever we publicize a particular incident,
10:29.4
minsan namimislok ng mga tao,
10:31.4
akala yata nila lahat ng sinasabi ko sa media
10:34.4
is just something na decided by the Philippine Coast Guard.
10:38.4
We have to understand the fact na
10:40.4
within the National Task Force West Philippine Sea,
10:43.4
there are a lot of information work,
10:45.4
there are a lot of working groups.
10:46.4
For example, the Information Working Group.
10:48.4
That's actually chaired by, ah,
10:49.4
the Presidential Communication Office.
10:53.4
So, for a particular incident to be publicized,
10:56.4
it has to pass through the vetting
10:58.4
of that Information Working Group.
11:01.4
And within that group,
11:02.4
you have to deal with the Department of Justice,
11:04.4
the Department of National Defense,
11:06.4
the Department of Transportation,
11:07.4
Armed Forces of the Philippines,
11:19.4
on all those information that I would decide to,
11:22.4
that I would present
11:23.4
to be released to the public.
11:26.4
all of these agencies cooperate
11:29.4
to obtain a certain objective,
11:31.4
whether it's more informational,
11:34.4
whether it's diplomatic,
11:36.4
or even the economic side of things
11:38.4
are also presented to the National Task Force West Philippine Sea.
11:42.4
this is not just a military approach.
11:47.4
We also have to look into the diplomatic approach,
11:50.4
the law enforcement approach,
11:52.4
even the economic approach
11:54.4
of our West Philippine Sea Strategy
11:57.4
are all discussed within the National Task Force.
12:00.4
Why is coordination so important?
12:02.4
Is it also in terms of responses?
12:04.4
Also, it's in terms of making sure that
12:06.4
one agency does not remind another agency?
12:08.4
Why is the coordination part very important?
12:12.4
our issue in the National Task Force West Philippine Sea
12:15.4
is our relationship,
12:17.4
with the People's Republic of China
12:19.4
is not only limited
12:21.4
on our position in the West Philippine Sea.
12:23.4
There are a lot of things that are entangled
12:26.4
with our relationship with China.
12:29.4
we still have diplomatic relationship with them.
12:32.4
We also have economic and trade relationship with China.
12:36.4
So, all of this has to be considered as well.
12:39.4
it's not just China.
12:40.4
You also look at other claimant states,
12:46.4
So, all of these things are also being discussed there
12:49.4
in a much more macro level appreciation of things.
12:54.4
Let's go back to the Philippine Coast Guard
12:56.4
because there are a lot of stereotypes there.
12:58.4
The reason we talked about inter-agency coordination
13:01.4
is because there are stereotypes,
13:02.4
ah, the Philippine government,
13:05.4
they're fighting,
13:06.4
that, that, that.
13:07.4
So, it's good that you explained that actually
13:08.4
there's tremendous amount of coherence
13:10.4
when it comes to response.
13:11.4
And it looks fast enough
13:12.4
because there's not much time left
13:14.4
to see what happens.
13:16.4
We can see the drone shots
13:17.4
that we're sharing online.
13:19.4
So, that is a testament
13:20.4
to the growing efficiency and coherence
13:22.4
as far as inter-agency coordination is concerned.
13:25.4
But, can we go back?
13:27.4
Because when it comes to the Philippine Coast Guard,
13:32.4
you know, whenever I share something on social media,
13:34.4
our countrymen are surprised
13:37.4
wow, our ships look good.
13:39.4
I saw something from the Philippine Navy.
13:40.4
Wow, this is new.
13:42.4
I said, wow, that's BTS.
13:43.4
That's made in Korea.
13:44.4
Those things, right?
13:46.4
we have steer types.
13:47.4
We're in the Philippines.
13:48.4
We're dilapidated.
13:50.4
So, I think in terms of Philippine Navy,
13:51.4
I think they have done a good job.
13:53.4
And I also shared the updates
13:55.4
when it comes to their capacity
13:56.4
and capabilities.
13:58.4
what's happening with the Joint Patrols.
14:00.4
we also have beautiful ships.
14:01.4
Not just the colored ones.
14:03.4
Because I always say,
14:05.4
you can play the David versus Goliath game
14:08.4
if you look like you have a fight.
14:10.4
Because let's not forget,
14:13.4
if you follow the statue,
14:15.4
there in Florence,
14:16.4
was a strong, good-looking guy.
14:18.4
I mean, like, you know,
14:20.4
Kasi iba yung Kawawa,
14:24.4
pero may laban ka.
14:25.4
So, pagdating sa Philippine Navy
14:27.4
the reason I'm explaining
14:28.4
is because may separate interviews tayo
14:29.4
with Philippine Navy,
14:30.4
people from National Security Council.
14:32.4
Can you tell us a little bit
14:33.4
about Philippine Coast Guard?
14:35.4
Yung size ng ating mga barko,
14:38.4
how does it compare
14:39.4
with what we had before?
14:43.4
Kasi may mga guest tayo
14:45.4
especially may other programs
14:47.4
the Philippine Coast Guard
14:48.4
went from almost non-existent
14:51.4
to actually the leading
14:52.4
Coast Guard force in ASEAN.
14:54.4
Some would put it that way.
14:55.4
What is the real score
14:57.4
pagdating sa Philippine Coast Guard
14:58.4
to the degree that you can share
14:59.4
now in the confidential?
15:02.4
Para malaman nila,
15:04.4
Hindi lang yung Philippine Navy
15:05.4
but yung Philippine Coast Guard.
15:06.4
I mean, for the Philippine Coast Guard,
15:09.4
we are the David.
15:11.4
Still good-looking.
15:12.4
Nice tone of muscle.
15:18.4
with nice-toned muscle.
15:19.4
Kasi ang mga barko natin,
15:20.4
hindi naman ito second-hand.
15:21.4
All of our vessels
15:23.4
All of these vessels
15:25.4
That's the 1044-meter vessels.
15:26.4
That's the 297 meters
15:29.4
we also have French vessel.
15:31.4
ito yung tinatawag nating
15:34.4
the 24-meter vessels.
15:35.4
Ito yung mga flagship na itong mga ito?
15:36.4
Actually, ang flagship na natin
15:37.4
na masasabi ng Coast Guard
15:38.4
are the biggest vessels
15:40.4
That's the 97-meter.
15:44.4
and Melchor Aquino.
15:46.4
Puro mga babayang pangalan.
15:48.4
that's really something.
15:50.4
that's really something, right?
16:09.4
But if you're going to compare it
16:14.4
limitation of logistics.
16:15.4
We cannot always deploy
16:19.4
and the 83 meters.
16:22.4
from the resupply mission,
16:25.4
the 44-meter vessels.
16:27.4
the 44-meter vessels.
16:28.4
Ito yung nakikita nila
16:32.4
mabilis. And then, the 97
16:34.5
meters, kumakita nilang malaki,
16:38.6
are still smaller
16:40.6
compared to the Chinese Coast Guard vessels.
16:43.0
Once we deploy the 97 meter
16:44.6
vessel, they can still deploy
16:50.6
So, in short, we remain
16:54.6
David, and they are
16:56.5
still the Goliath because they have bigger
16:58.6
vessels, they have more number of
17:00.6
vessels. For example, we deploy
17:02.5
two 44 meter vessels to support the
17:04.5
supply mission. We can expect
17:06.4
somewhere between four to six
17:08.8
Chinese Coast Guard vessels
17:10.0
ang ide-deploy nila instead. But if you're going
17:12.6
to become a Coast
17:14.7
Guard that uses your water
17:16.6
cannon to prevent
17:20.5
operation and endanger
17:22.7
the lives of people,
17:24.7
definitely, you're not a Coast Guard
17:26.2
organization already. So,
17:28.5
I don't want to compare
17:30.6
the ASEAN Coast Guard
17:33.0
with that identity
17:34.7
of the Chinese Coast Guard.
17:36.8
I think they are deviant.
17:38.4
Wait, kung retired, ang sinasabi mo dito,
17:41.1
fake yung Coast Guard nila, na talagang
17:42.6
parang Navy nila yan?
17:44.0
Well, definitely.
17:46.6
And there were even reports, no, that
17:48.7
some of the retired PLA
17:50.7
Navy warship were just basically
17:52.7
painted white and
17:54.4
commissioned to the Chinese Coast Guard.
17:57.0
And also, the structure
17:58.5
itself, it's part of the Chinese military
18:02.5
for me, we cannot really say
18:04.7
that the Coast Guard identity
18:06.4
for the Philippines,
18:09.0
Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia,
18:10.6
and even Japan, doesn't align
18:12.6
with the identity of what the China
18:16.5
So, in short, ang sinasabi mo, you scratch
18:18.4
a Chinese Coast Guard, you'll get a Chinese Navy.
18:21.3
I mean, literally.
18:21.8
In this sense, literally, kasi kung
18:23.7
nilulayan lang nila yan, di ba?
18:27.2
So, anong operational implication na ito?
18:29.7
Now, when it comes to
18:30.6
dealing with China, you have to modernize
18:32.4
the Philippine Navy, you have to modernize the
18:34.1
Philippine Coast Guard, the two have to coordinate
18:38.4
Is the idea of joint Coast Guard
18:40.3
patrols also something that we have to look
18:42.2
at this point? Kasi meron tayong mga joint patrols
18:44.2
ng Philippine Navy with the U.S. Navy
18:46.1
with the Japanese-Australian Navy.
18:48.3
Should we also look at more
18:49.8
patrols? I mean, I remember last year was
18:52.0
June or July, meron tayong first
18:53.9
trilateral with Japan and U.S.
18:55.8
Dito rin, medyo malapit sa South China Sea area.
18:58.4
But they're looking at that also as emerging
19:00.2
as a, I know it's a policy question,
19:02.0
maybe it's beyond your pay grade, but
19:03.3
from your understanding, put your
19:05.8
scholarly hat as a security expert,
19:07.9
do you think that could be also the direction of things?
19:10.1
Because ang sinasabi mo is, deviant yung
19:12.1
China, to put it nicely. I mean,
19:13.8
bully sila, di ba? They're violating
19:15.8
every basic principle of what a Coast Guard
19:17.8
should stand for, not to mention principles of
19:19.7
international law. On a one-to-one
19:21.8
basis, mas malaki sila sa ating lahat,
19:24.0
assuming, I mean, they're not
19:25.9
even really a real Coast Guard. So, obviously
19:27.8
there has to be a kind of a multilateral response,
19:32.1
gaya na sila mo, Richard, last year
19:34.0
we had the first trilateral
19:35.6
Coast Guard exercise between
19:37.9
the U.S. Coast Guard, the Japanese Coast Guard,
19:40.1
and the Poping Coast Guard.
19:42.5
If the question is,
19:46.8
upcoming trilateral
19:47.8
exercise between these three
19:50.0
countries will be happening also
19:51.8
pretty much the same outside the exclusive economic zone?
19:55.3
Kasi, alam naman natin,
19:56.4
within Territorial Sea,
19:57.6
Territorial Sea in Mindola,
20:00.2
I think that's something that is
20:04.0
can be considered as a good development
20:08.7
and the Japanese government
20:09.8
support our position in the West
20:11.8
Philippine Sea. But again, we cannot
20:14.0
tell until the Department...
20:15.8
It's a policy question. I don't want to put you on the spot.
20:18.4
I know it's a policy question, but
20:19.5
the thing is, I'm just
20:22.3
seeing yung direction of the wind, di ba?
20:24.2
Itong balikatan this year was really
20:26.0
unprecedented. Mayan na tayong exercises
20:28.0
sa may kakiyan, na medyo may kinalawan sa Taiwan,
20:30.2
although, of course, not as overtly
20:32.1
as some people put it. And then, of course,
20:34.1
yung first time, meron tayong trilateral patrols with
20:35.9
France, even the French were involved
20:37.8
in these Southeast patrols in the South China Sea.
20:42.1
naturally, perhaps, you know, you could see also
20:44.1
the same thing on the Coast Guard front.
20:45.9
I mean, that's where my
20:47.7
question is coming.
20:49.6
Pwede natin balikan ng konti kasi, sorry dun sa mga
20:52.1
nagla-live, medyo nagkakat yung
20:54.2
ang taas kasi ng quality.
20:56.5
Pwede mo ulit, can you tell us a little bit
21:00.2
capacity ng Philippine Coast Guard as it
21:02.2
stands? Kasi sabi ko,
