PN spokesperson for WPS Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad (PNA file photo by Priam F. Nepomuceno)
MANILA – The Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC) now being operationalized by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will allow it to defend the country's sea lanes of communication and all of its maritime territories.
"That's why the shift is now towards external defense, we have the CADC, we would have the capability to protect and to secure Benham Rise (now the Philippine Rise), all around the country. On the international level, we have a responsibility (to protect), that the sea lanes of communication, (so that) the international rules-based order will remain," Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said Wednesday.
With the CADC, the Philippines will be able to access its northern islands no matter what China does.
When asked on whether the CADC will change China's behavior, Trinidad said as far as the PN and the AFP are concerned, this strategy will allow them to be able to protect the integrity of the national territory, the country's sovereignty and the Filipino people.
The CADC aims to develop the country's capability to protect its entire territory including its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to ensure that the next generation of Filipinos will be able to enjoy its natural resources.
"In plain language, we are developing our capability to protect and secure our entire territory and EEZ in order to ensure that our people and all the generations of Filipinos to come shall freely reap and enjoy the bounties of the natural resources that are rightfully ours within our domain," Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier said.
The DND chief in a forum in January said the CADC will allow the AFP to protect and guarantee "Philippine nationals, Philippine corporations, and those authorized by the Philippine government the unimpeded and peaceful exploration and exploitation of all natural resources within our EEZ and other areas we have jurisdiction." (PNA)
