Sinabi ng isang Washington-based security expert na kailangang mag-develop ang Pilipinas ng maaasahang Coast Guard upang tumugon sa mga aktibidad ng mga Chinese sa West Philippine Sea.
“The number one need of the Philippines is maritime domain (assets), the patrol craft are more important than combat aircraft at the moment,” sabi ni Gregory Poling, director ng Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at fellow sa Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Sa isang panayam sa sidelines ng forum sa Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sa National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) sa Camp Aguinaldo noong Martes, sinabi ni Poling na ang “immediate problem” ng bansa “is not getting into air to air combat with the Chinese, it’s knowing what the Chinese are doing,” diin niya, nagpahiwatig na kailangan ng gobyerno na bumili ng mga karagdagang sasakyang pandagat para sa Coast Guard.
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“The response has to be surface ships, Coast Guard vessels, law enforcement,” sabi ni Poling, binanggit na “anything that happens out there is going to be at least, first a law enforcement issue.”
Ito ay dahil, diin niya, “the Chinese aren’t moving with military assets” ngunit sa pamamagitan ng “fishing para-military troops and coast guard vessels,” na ang tinutukoy ay ang mga aktibidad ng China sa West Philippine Sea.
At habang inamin niya na kailangan ng Pilipinas na palakasin ang Navy nito para sa matatag na depensa, sinabi ni Poling na “that’s not gonna help respond to what happens tomorrow or the day after the day after.”
“The navy is a long-term investment. The Coast Guard is today’s need,” dagdag niya. (Elena L. Aben)
