WITH the Philippine Navy’s brand-new forward operating base on strategic Batanes island near Taiwan, we are now in a better position to defend our northern flank.
The facility in Mahatao town will host Navy and Marine units under the Northern Luzon Naval Command tasked with securing the Luzon Strait.
This should provide a commanding lookout tower for the Philippines on our northern shores, particularly with the reported appearances in August of armed Chinese vessels in the Bashi Channel, a waterway that separates Taiwan and the Philippines, between Y’Ami Island of the Philippines and Orchid island or Lanyu of Taiwan.
Given the erratic situation between China and Taiwan, where there are more than 160,000 Overseas Filipino Workers, the operating base in Batanes should provide a breathing space for our officials who may have to launch quickly a shielded exodus for our countrymen working in Taiwan.
Beyond doubt, the northern base will be a tactical fortress for our country’s security.
President Marcos Jr. recently pointed out that the country would be inevitably drawn into an all-out war between global superpowers
Beijing and Washington over Taiwan. China considers Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled out using force to bring the territory under its control.
Not unexpectedly, Beijing has slammed President Marcos’ statement as a gross violation of the ‘One-China’ policy that the two governments agreed upon when they established official diplomatic relations way back in 1975.
But the Philippine Navy’s decision to establish a forward operating base in Batanes is timely and appropriate as reports indicate that three China Coast Guard ships had been seen patrolling the eastern and western sides of the island-province last month.
That the CCG vessels were monitored passing through the Bashi Channel has been described as a “very unusual” track.
The three ships are large and armed, possibly indicating a hidden agenda by Beijing to mobilize other naval and coast guard assets in the area as part of preparations to seize Taiwan by force in the future.
We need to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity with all our available resources.
And our Navy deserves credit for doing everything possible to achieve that objective even with limited resources at this point.
