01:02.5
baka gagawa sila ng mas marahas na bagay or more violent strategies.
01:07.7
Are you worried about the risk of this getting out of control?
01:10.7
Or do you think na fear-mongering lang yung mga ganyan diskusyon?
01:14.1
I think that's different.
01:16.6
We cannot also say that they are cornered beasts.
01:21.2
I think you can fairly say na masasabi mong,
01:24.0
ang isang cornered beast has something to do with their own national security,
01:30.0
their economic survival.
01:32.0
Pero dito, hindi naman, it doesn't,
01:37.0
what we are doing of exposing their illegal actions,
01:40.1
doesn't define their national survival.
01:43.2
What defines here is we are just exposing their illegal aggression.
01:48.2
So, we cannot say na they are a cornered beast.
01:52.5
What we can do here is that we are telling the beast na for you to be able to,
02:00.0
be considered as somebody that can go along with other beasts.
02:05.6
You have to abide with the international law.
02:08.0
You have to fall in line and you should not bully your way out to justify your action.
02:13.8
Now, for the sake of argument,
02:15.4
anong sinisabi ng China na meron daw silang gentleman's agreement sa dating administration
02:19.6
na ang Pilipinas daw yung provocator, tayo daw yung pasaway,
02:24.1
sila naman daw, sumusunod naman sila sa mga agreements nila with the previous administration.
02:28.8
Anong understanding na sa Pilipinas?
02:30.0
In Coast Guard, when it comes to the gentleman's agreement.
02:32.4
Alam mo, kung ako lang, I mean, I'm just a Coast Guard officer, you know.
02:38.1
The way I understand it, the commander-in-chief,
02:41.3
the chief architect of our foreign policy has already spoken.
02:45.6
He said that he's not aware of such gentleman's agreement,
02:50.4
but if there was any, he is already rescinding it.
02:54.7
He said that last year already,
02:56.7
unfortunately, may mga tao lang na gustong ibalik-balik itong issue.
02:60.0
Kung baga, we're stuck in that debate,
03:03.5
whether there was really a secret deal,
03:05.7
there was a new model,
03:07.5
whatsoever na sinisabi nila.
03:09.3
But the mere objective of this kind of fake news
03:11.9
is only to sow discord and disunity among the Filipino people.
03:16.3
Kung baga, nililito lang naman tayo nitong mga to.
03:18.8
So, once and for all,
03:20.4
for the Philippine Coast Guard,
03:22.6
the national government agencies,
03:24.3
and the National Task Force West Philippine Sea,
03:26.7
for us, itong mga issue ng gentleman's agreement na nila,
03:31.1
this is part of their propaganda.
03:33.1
We don't have to spend so much time
03:35.0
to try to explain our position.
03:37.6
The president has already spoken,
03:40.1
That's already the end line of this argument.
03:43.9
And pagdating dito,
03:46.0
what do you think will be China's next move?
03:50.7
Magre-recalibrate pa sila?
03:52.4
Or do you think they're just going to keep on doing the same thing
03:54.8
until they'll get different results?
03:57.6
Because, ako, my interpretation,
03:60.0
is they were very affected by the term bully, right?
04:03.4
I never saw China na ganyan yung response sila,
04:05.4
na hindi kami bully, very defensive sila.
04:07.7
Mukhang natamaan talaga sila dun sa
04:09.3
yung the way they came off as very aggressive and bullying.
04:13.8
What's your understanding there?
04:15.3
Well, for me, you know,
04:17.1
the Chinese government,
04:20.2
and then if you're going to ask
04:21.8
how the National Task Force West Philippine Sea
04:24.6
will respond to whatever recalibration
04:26.9
that they're going to do,
04:30.0
We can see naman, eh.
04:31.2
What are the changes now compared before
04:33.7
sa nagiging approach nila with our transparency?
04:37.1
They're just basically increasing their information operation.
04:40.6
They're just engaging more trolls
04:42.3
to counter our factual narrative.
04:44.5
And if this will be the calibrated approach of China
04:50.0
in countering the transparency strategy,
04:53.1
ang sabi nga ni NSA,
04:54.1
this is very easy for the national government to respond to.
04:56.9
We're just going to keep on telling,
04:60.0
telling the truth.
05:01.0
We're just going to continuously embed
05:03.3
foreign journalists to be our truth-tellers
05:06.0
to tell the world what's really happening.
05:08.1
And this is the reason kung bakit ang China
05:10.3
is also, you know,
05:11.9
not even the Chinese,
05:13.4
and not just even the People's Republic of China,
05:16.6
but even their pro-China trolls are saying na
05:21.5
ang mga media daw na ini-embed natin
05:24.2
are actually the reason why China is being provoked.
05:27.9
But this is what we're going to,
05:29.8
we're going to continue doing.
05:30.8
So in short, ang sinisayawang,
05:31.9
ang nangyari dito is parang ginagaslight tayo ng China.
05:34.9
Parang tayong sinisisi for doing what's right.
05:37.7
Sinisisi ang mga media for reporting the truth.
05:41.0
So this is a classic case of gaslighting.
05:43.5
Now, just for the purpose of education,
05:46.2
siguro kasi yung mga ibang kaubayan natin
05:47.7
hindi pa rin nila nagigets.
05:49.8
Ano yung division of labor
05:51.2
sa pagitan ng Philippine Coast Guard
05:53.0
tsaka yung Philippine Navy?
05:54.8
Di ba yung Philippine Navy naman daw
05:56.5
yung gumagawa ng resupply?
05:58.0
For instance, doon sa Ayung Insyol,
05:59.5
hindi ba sila yung may obligasyon
06:02.7
or mandato na protektaan yung ating karagatan?
06:06.1
What is the coordination between
06:07.6
the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy?
06:09.4
And is it evolving over time?
06:11.3
Is it changing? Is it flexible?
06:13.3
Ano yung division of labor nangyari dyan?
06:14.9
Well, first of all, Richard,
06:16.5
our change of deploying white hulls
06:22.9
is not something that happened overnight.
06:25.3
And it's not something that we can just attribute
06:27.5
to President Bobo Marcos.
06:29.5
The very origin of the deployment
06:33.2
of Coast Guard vessels
06:34.9
started and goes back
06:36.9
during the time of President Noy Noy Aquino.
06:39.9
Of course, there was a standoff
06:41.2
and we're in the propaganda of the Chinese
06:45.3
saying we are militarizing
06:48.1
a simple issue of fishery law enforcement
06:52.4
when the Philippine Navy decided to board
06:55.2
one of the Chinese fishing vessel
06:57.2
in Bajo de Masinlo.
06:58.3
And that resulted,
07:05.5
President Pinoy also
07:07.5
realized the importance of deploying
07:09.5
white ships instead.
07:11.5
That's also the reason why
07:13.5
when he went to Japan in 2013,
07:15.5
that's his first request to Prime Minister Abe
07:19.5
to support the Philippine government
07:21.5
for the acquisition of Coast Guard vessels.
07:23.5
That's the 1044-meter vessels that we see now
07:26.5
and of course the 297-meter vessel.
07:29.5
During the time of President Aquino,
07:31.5
there are two main reasons why he did that.
07:33.5
Of course, learning what happened
07:35.5
from the Scarborough Shoal standoff,
07:37.5
the Chinese propaganda of
07:39.5
not militarizing the dispute.
07:42.5
And second is the regional norm.
07:45.5
You also have to understand the fact
07:47.5
that it's not just the Philippine Coast Guard
07:50.5
that is being deployed in the South China Sea.
07:52.5
You can also find the Vietnamese Coast Guard,
07:55.5
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency,
07:57.5
or the Malaysian Coast Guard,
07:58.5
and also in Natuna Island,
08:00.5
with Indonesia also having trouble with China,
08:03.5
that they are deploying Bakamla,
08:05.5
a white ship as well.
08:07.5
So this is the regional norm
08:09.5
that nobody is going to militarize
08:11.5
the South China Sea.
08:12.5
This is primarily the reason why
08:15.5
the Coast Guard vessels have been deployed
08:17.5
during the time of President Aquino.
08:19.5
And then came President Duterte's time,
08:22.5
that's the time na
08:23.5
nagdatingin naman ang mga barko natin from Japan.
08:27.5
with President Duterte,
08:29.5
he has also relied
08:30.5
on the Philippine Coast Guard vessels
08:33.5
Tuloy-tuloy yung modernization.
08:34.5
Yes, and modernization of the Coast Guard
08:36.5
during the time of President Duterte.
08:38.5
And also, right now,
08:40.5
during the time of President Bongbong Marcos.
08:42.5
So that explains why Coast Guard
08:44.5
is being deployed in the West Coast.
08:47.5
But we should not also discount the fact
08:51.5
that the Philippine Navy
08:53.5
or the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
08:55.5
they are actually playing
08:56.5
a much more important role
08:58.5
than the Philippine Coast Guard.
08:59.5
Ako, sinasabi ko nga lagi
09:02.5
For the Philippine Coast Guard,
09:03.5
we can just, you know, carry out,
09:05.5
maintain our presence
09:06.5
in the West Philippine Sea.
09:08.5
But when we talk about
09:09.5
the territorial defense,
09:11.5
when we talk about
09:12.5
the hard security part of it,
09:15.5
these are warships of the Philippine Navy
09:17.5
or the fighter planes
09:19.5
of the Philippine Air Force,
09:21.5
this is something
09:22.5
that the Philippine Coast Guard
09:23.5
will never take away
09:24.5
from the Armed Forces
09:25.5
of the Philippines.
09:26.5
When we talk of defense and security,
09:28.5
that's actually for the Armed Forces
09:30.5
of the Philippines.
09:31.5
But when we talk about
09:32.5
maritime governance
09:33.5
and maintaining our presence
09:35.5
in our own exclusive economic zone,
09:38.5
then the Philippine Coast Guard
09:39.5
can perform this kind of roles.
09:41.5
So meron kayong optimal coordination
09:43.5
pagdating sa defense
09:45.5
of our territorial waters
09:46.5
and sovereign rights?
09:47.5
Well, the National Task Force
09:48.5
West Philippine Sea
09:50.5
is a very effective
09:51.5
interagency task force
09:53.5
chaired by the National Security Council
09:55.5
and the National Security Advisor,
09:56.5
General Eduardo Año.
09:58.5
Being a former chief of staff,
10:00.5
being a former DILG secretary,
10:03.5
he has a much more,
10:06.5
very diverse appreciation
10:08.5
of how he can mix forces
10:12.5
between maritime law enforcement
10:16.5
and also in engaging
10:18.5
other government agencies.
10:20.5
So under General Eduardo Año
10:23.5
for the National Task Force,
10:24.5
he is very effective
10:26.5
in having a whole-of-nation approach
10:28.5
in addressing the issue
10:30.5
in the West Philippine Sea.
10:32.5
Pwede pa kayo explain
10:33.5
ano itong whole-of-nation approach?
10:34.5
Ang ibig sabihin niyan,
10:35.5
hindi lang yung gobyerno,
10:36.5
iba't ibang ahensya ng gobyerno,
10:38.5
pero involved din dapat
10:39.5
yung taong bayan,
10:40.5
civil society groups?
10:42.5
Well, one good example of this is
10:45.5
whenever we publicize
10:48.5
a particular incident,
10:50.5
minsan namimislook ng mga tao,
10:53.5
lahat ng sinasabi ko sa media
10:55.5
is just something na decided
10:58.5
by the Philippine Coast Guard.
10:59.5
We have to understand the fact na
11:01.5
within the National Task Force
11:03.5
West Philippine Sea,
11:04.5
there are a lot of working groups.
11:08.5
the Information Working Group
11:09.5
that's actually chaired by
11:11.5
the Presidential Communication Office.
11:14.5
So for a particular incident
11:16.5
to be publicized,
11:17.5
it has to pass through the vetting
11:19.5
of that Information Working Group.
11:22.5
And within that group,
11:23.5
you have to deal with
11:24.5
the Department of Justice,
11:25.5
the Department of National Defense,
11:27.5
the Department of Transportation,
11:28.5
Armed Forces of the Philippines,
11:40.5
on all those information
11:42.5
that I would present
11:44.5
to be released to the public.
11:47.5
all of these agencies cooperate
11:50.5
to obtain a certain objective,
11:51.5
whether it's more of informational,
11:54.5
whether it's diplomatic,
11:56.5
or even the economic side of things
11:59.5
are also presented
12:00.5
to the National Task Force
12:01.5
West Philippine Sea.
12:03.5
this is not just a military approach,
12:07.5
but you also have to look into
12:09.5
the diplomatic approach,
12:10.5
the law enforcement approach,
12:12.5
even the economic approach
12:14.5
of our West Philippine Sea strategy
12:17.5
are all discussed
12:18.5
within the National Task Force.
12:21.5
Why is that coordination so important?
12:23.5
Is it also in terms of responses?
12:25.5
Also it's in terms of making sure
12:27.5
that one agency does not remind another agency?
12:30.5
Why is the coordination part very important?
12:33.5
our issue in the National Task Force West Philippine Sea
12:36.5
is our relationship in particular
12:39.5
with the People's Republic of China
12:41.5
is not only limited
12:42.5
on our position in the West Philippine Sea.
12:45.5
There are a lot of things
12:46.5
that are entangled
12:47.5
with our relationship with China.
12:50.5
we still have diplomatic relationship with them.
12:53.5
We also have economic and trade relationship with China.
12:57.5
So all of this has to be considered as well.
13:00.5
it's not just China.
13:01.5
You also look at other claimant states,
13:07.5
So all of these things are also being discussed there
13:10.5
in a much more macro level appreciation of things.
13:15.5
Let's go back to the Philippine Coast Guard
13:17.5
because there are a lot of stereotypes there.
13:19.5
The reason we talked about inter-agency coordination
13:22.5
is because my stereotype,
13:23.5
ah, the Philippine government,
13:26.5
they're fighting,
13:27.5
that, that, that.
13:28.5
So it's good that you explained that
13:29.5
actually there's tremendous amount of coherence
13:31.5
when it comes to response.
13:32.5
And it looks fast enough
13:33.5
because there's not much time left.
13:35.5
If there's bullying happening,
13:37.5
we can see the drone shots,
13:38.5
we can share online,
13:40.5
So that is a testament
13:42.5
to the growing efficiency and coherence
13:44.5
as far as inter-agency coordination is concerned.
13:47.5
But we can go back,
13:48.5
because when it comes to the Philippine Coast Guard,
13:53.5
you know, whenever I share something on social media,
13:55.5
our fellow countrymen are surprised
13:58.5
wow, our new things look good.
14:00.5
I showed something from the Philippine Navy,
14:02.5
wow, this is new.
14:05.5
that's made in Korea,
14:06.5
things like that.
14:08.5
we have stereotypes,
14:09.5
we're in the Philippines,
14:10.5
we're dilapidated,
14:12.5
So I think in terms of the Philippine Navy,
14:13.5
I think they have done a good job
14:14.5
and I also shared the updates
14:16.5
when it comes to their capacity,
14:17.5
their capabilities.
14:18.5
And more and more,
14:19.5
what's happening with the Joint Patrols,
14:20.5
they saw that we also have beautiful ships,
14:23.5
not just colorful ones.
14:24.5
Because I always say,
14:26.5
you can play the David versus Goliath game
14:29.5
if you look like you have a fight.
14:31.5
Because let's not forget,
14:33.5
if you follow the statue,
14:36.5
there in Florence,
14:38.5
was a strong, good-looking guy.
14:39.5
I mean, like, you know,
14:40.5
you have a fight.
14:41.5
Because the Kawaawa is different,
14:42.5
the David is different.
14:45.5
but you have a fight.
14:46.5
Don't come to the Philippine Navy,
14:48.5
The reason I'm explaining
14:49.5
is because we have separate interviews
14:50.5
with the Philippine Navy,
14:52.5
people from the National Security Council.
14:54.5
Can you tell us a little bit
14:55.5
about the Philippine Coast Guard?
14:57.5
The size of our ships,
14:59.5
how does it compare with what we had before,
15:02.5
but also how it compares with the region?
15:04.5
Because we have guests before,
15:06.5
especially there are other programs that say
15:08.5
the Philippine Coast Guard went from
15:10.5
almost non-existent a generation ago
15:12.5
to actually the leading Coast Guard force in ASEAN.
15:15.5
Some would put it that way.
15:17.5
What is the real score
15:18.5
when it comes to the Philippine Coast Guard,
15:19.5
to the degree that you can share now
15:21.5
in the confidential?
15:23.5
So they can know that we're the David,
15:25.5
not just the Philippine Navy
15:26.5
but the Philippine Coast Guard.
15:27.5
I mean, for the Philippine Coast Guard,
15:29.5
fairly, we can say
15:30.5
we are the David.
15:32.5
Still good-looking,
15:33.5
with a nice tone of muscle,
15:36.5
but not as big as the Goliath.
15:41.5
good-looking with nice-toned muscle
15:43.5
because our ships,
15:46.5
this is not second-hand.
15:47.5
All of our vessels are brand new.
15:49.5
All of these vessels came from Japan.
15:53.5
That's the 1044-meter vessels.
15:55.5
That's the 297 meters that we have.
15:59.5
we also have French vessels.
16:02.5
this is what we call the Gabriela Sela,
16:04.5
and also the 24-meter vessels.
16:06.5
Are these flagship vessels?
16:09.5
the flagship that the Coast Guard can say
16:11.5
are the biggest vessels that we have.
16:13.5
That's the 97-meter.
16:17.5
and Melchior Aquino.
16:19.5
I feel like they are the names of countries.
16:21.5
That's really something.
16:23.5
That's really something, right?
16:26.5
but this is the Amazon.
16:27.5
But if you're going to compare it with China,
16:30.5
although we cannot,
16:34.5
because of the limitation of logistics,
16:36.5
we cannot always deploy the bigger ones,
16:39.5
the 97 meters and the 83 meters.
16:42.5
So what you can see from the resupply mission,
16:44.5
mission, we're always only
16:46.4
deploying the 44-meter vessels.
16:50.5
vessels, ito yung nakikita nila,
16:52.8
maliit, pero mabilis.
16:54.8
And then, the 97-meters,
16:56.7
kung makikita nilang malaki,
16:58.6
pero, these are still
17:02.5
to the Chinese Coast Guard vessels.
17:04.3
Once we deploy the 97-meter vessel,
17:06.8
they can still deploy
17:10.1
na mga bargo. So, in short,
17:17.1
and they are still the Goliath
17:18.8
because they have bigger vessels,
17:20.7
they have more number of vessels.
17:22.8
For example, we deploy two 44-meter
17:24.7
vessels to support the supply mission.
17:26.9
We can expect somewhere
17:28.5
between four to six Chinese
17:30.5
Coast Guard vessels.
17:32.0
But if you're going to
17:34.3
become a Coast Guard that
17:36.5
uses your water cannon
17:41.8
operation and endanger
17:44.0
the lives of people,
17:46.1
definitely, you're not a Coast Guard organization
17:48.4
already. So, I don't
17:52.0
the ASEAN Coast Guard
17:54.3
with that identity
17:56.0
of the Chinese Coast Guard.
17:58.1
I think they are deviant.
17:59.7
Wait, so, sir, kung retire lang,
18:01.8
sinasabi mo dito, fake yung Coast Guard nila, na talagang
18:03.9
parang Navy nila yan?
18:05.4
Kung papanggap lang na mukhang mabait lang na Coast Guard?
18:08.0
And there were even reports, no, that
18:10.0
some of the retired
18:11.8
LA Navy warships were just basically
18:14.0
painted white and commissioned
18:16.4
to the Chinese Coast Guard.
18:18.4
And also, the structure itself,
18:20.5
it's part of the Chinese Military Commission.
18:23.0
for me, we cannot
18:25.3
really say that the Coast Guard
18:29.1
Philippines, Vietnam,
18:31.0
Malaysia, Indonesia, and even Japan
18:32.7
doesn't align with the identity
18:34.8
of what the China Coast Guard is.
18:37.8
So, in short, ang sinasabi mo,
18:39.0
you scratch a Chinese Coast Guard, you'll get
18:41.8
I mean, literally.
18:43.5
Literally, kasi kung pinulayan lang nila yan,
18:48.6
So, ano yung operational
18:50.1
implication na ito? Now, when it comes to
18:51.9
dealing with China, you have to modernize the
18:53.9
Philippine Navy, you have to modernize the Philippine
18:55.8
Coast Guard, the two have to coordinate more.
19:00.2
idea of joint Coast Guard patrols
19:02.3
also something that we have to look at this point?
19:04.2
Kasi meron tayong mga joint patrols ng
19:05.7
Philippine Navy with the U.S. Navy, with the
19:07.7
Japanese-Australian Navy.
19:09.6
Should we also look at more,
19:11.8
patrols? I mean, I remember last year, was it June or
19:13.8
July, meron tayong first trilateral
19:15.7
with Japan and U.S. Dito rin, medyo
19:17.8
malapit sa South China Sea area.
19:19.7
But they're looking at that also as emerging as a
19:22.0
I know it's a policy question, maybe it's beyond
19:23.8
your pay grade, but from your
19:25.6
understanding, put your scholarly
19:27.6
hat as a security expert, do you think that
19:29.8
could be also the direction of things? Because
19:31.6
ang sinasabi mo is, deviant yung China,
19:34.0
to put it nicely. I mean, bully sila,
19:35.9
di ba? They're violating every basic
19:37.9
principle of what a Coast Guard should stand for,
19:39.7
not to mention principles of international law.
19:41.8
On a one-to-one basis, mas malaki sila
19:44.3
sa ating lahat, assuming,
19:46.1
I mean, they're not even really a real
19:48.0
Coast Guard. So, obviously, there has to be a
19:49.9
kind of a multilateral response, right?
19:52.3
Well, gaya niya si
19:53.9
Ramo, Richard, no? Last year, we had
19:55.8
the first trilateral
19:56.9
Coast Guard exercise between the U.S.
19:59.8
Coast Guard, the Japanese Coast Guard, and the
20:01.7
Philippine Coast Guard.
20:03.9
If the question is,
20:08.1
upcoming trilateral exercise
20:09.9
between these three countries,
20:11.7
will be happening also pretty much
20:13.7
the same outside the exclusive economic zone?
20:16.6
Kasi, alam naman natin.
20:17.8
Within Territorial Sea.
20:19.6
Territorial Sea in Mindoro.
20:23.7
that's something that is
20:25.3
can be considered as a good development
20:30.0
and the Japanese government
20:31.2
support our position in the West Philippine Sea.
20:34.1
But again, we cannot tell
20:35.7
until the Department...
20:37.1
It's a policy question. I don't want to put you on the spot.
20:39.6
I know it's a policy question, but
20:41.7
the thing is, I'm just seeing
20:43.9
yung direction of the wind, di ba?
20:45.6
Itong balikatan this year was really unprecedented.
20:48.6
Meron tayong exercises sa may kagiyan,
20:50.3
na medyo may kinalawan sa Taiwan,
20:51.7
although, of course, not as overtly as
20:53.7
some people put it. And then, of course, yung first time,
20:56.0
meron tayong trilateral patrols with France,
20:57.8
even the French were involved in these
20:59.7
Southeast patrols in the South China Sea.
21:02.5
So, the idea is, naturally,
21:04.2
perhaps, you could see also the same thing
21:05.9
on the Coast Guard front. I mean,
21:07.7
that's where my question is coming.
21:10.9
Pwede natin balikatan?
21:11.7
Balikan ng konti kasi, sorry dun sa mga nagla-live,
21:14.5
medyo nagka-cut yung
21:15.8
ang taas kasi ng quality.
21:17.8
Pero, can you tell us a little bit again
21:19.9
about aning capacity
21:22.0
ng Philippine Coast Guard as it stands?
