PH Navy to ‘shadow’ foreign ships intruding in PH waters

What should the Philippine Navy(PN) must do when foreign warship/s are intruding in our territorial waters?

The numerous intrusions of foreign ships/warships has made the PN drafting guidelines for “unfriendly gestures” to foreign warships passing through Philippine waters without permission from the Philippine government

Some of the actions that might be done by Philippine authorities are shadowing and crossing the bow, Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad, Navy flag officer in command said to the members of the media.

Philippine Navy's MPACs
(photo crdit to owner)

“Our concept is once our littoral monitoring stations monitor foreign warships entering our territorial waters without prior clearance, our available Navy ships will be directed to shadow or accompany the [foreign] vessel until [it] exits our territorial waters,” Empedrad said.

“So we continuously challenge the ship,” he added.

If the foreign vessel does not answer?

In the instane said foreign vessel ignores communication from the Philippine side  or turns off automatic identification system, “we can send aircraft to shadow and take pictures of the foreign warship in our territorial waters,” Empedrad said.

“If the [foreign] warship still does not respond, probably our ship can cross the vessel’s bow so it would not necessarily be provocative,” he said.

He said there would be no call to general quarters — an order to battle stations or brace for imminent damage.

“Just maneuvering to tell them continuously that they are passing through our territorial waters, particularly when the foreign warship’s passage is not expeditious. We can challenge them that their passage is not innocent,” Empedrad said.

TH PN FOIC said he did not expect hostile response from foreign warships, as that would reflect badly on them.

All of these actions is but a reaction to the previous statement by Department of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana that unannounced passage of Chinese warships in Philippine waters without prior notice to local authorities.

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