Maliban sa West Philippine Sea, ay pagtutuunan na rin ng pansin ng Department of National Defense ang pagbabantay sa eastern seaboard ng Pilipinas.
Sa pagtalakay ng House Appropriations Committee sa panukalang P258.16 bilyon na pondo ng DND sa susunod na taon, ibinahagi ni Defense Sec. Gilbert Teodoro ang DND priority agenda.
Bahagi nito ang paghihigpit ng kanilang pagbabantay sa bahagi ng Philippine Rise at katimugang bahagi ng Pasipiko mula sa mga iligal at hindi awtorisadong research.
“What we also want to concentrate on is the Philippine Rise and the eastern seaboard of the Philippines. Everybody naturally is focused on the West Philippine Sea right now, but there’s a vast area that we have to protect and to prevent any illegal and unlawful research and occupation. That’s the Philippine Rise and the southern portion of the Pacific,” ani Teodoro.
Ipapatupad na rin aniya nila ang isang comprehensive archipelagic basing system.
Bilang isang kapuluan na bansa ang Pilipinas kailangan ng istratehikong basing system.
Bahagi nito ang pagtatayo ng naval base sa iba pang lugar sa bansa na maaari ring gamitin bilang pahingahan ng mga mangingisda at patayuan ng storage facilities para sa kanilang mga huli.
“Given the fact, your honors, that we are an archipelagic country, the foundation of our sovereign rights are the baselines because those are the starting points of our projection to the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Eone and other areas. So we have to move outward rather than inland in a joint manner. For example, we have to build new naval bases and ports in outlying areas, which will be for perhaps joint use also so that our upscaled fisherfolk can dock outside, they form cooperatives, have bigger vessels with refrigeration and proper storage facilities. They can avail of these and of course for maritime safety and security,” paliwanag pa ng kalihim.
Isa pa aniya sa dapat ikonsidera ay ang inihaing aplikasyon para sa extended continental shelf na kung maaprubahan ay makakasama na sa mga dapat na bantayan. | ulat ni Kathleen Forbes
