FILIPINOS should sign up and volunteer with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to help defend Philippine sovereignty amid rows with Beijing in the South China Sea (SCS), House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Sunday.
“Serving the country is not just for the men in uniform. We all have a role to play,” he said in a statement in Filipino.
“By joining the PCGA (PCG Auxiliary), we have more guards, and our defense becomes stronger,” he added.
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, deploying an armada of coast guard vessels to protect what it considers its territory hundreds of kilometers off its mainland. A United Nations-backed court based in The Hague in 2016 voided Beijing’s claims for being illegal.
Manila has been at the forefront of regional efforts to counter Chinese expansionism at the waterbody where trillions worth of shipborne trade passes through annually by conducting maritime exercises with its allies.
Mr. Romualdez also alleged that China is launching a two-pronged attack against the Philippines, using “digital propaganda” and naval aggression in the South China Sea to stake its claim further.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
