The Chief of Northern Luzon Command General Romeo Tanalgo said on Friday the naval and air assets placed under his command patrols regularly in the northern part of the West Philippine (South China) Sea despite cautions by the United States about China’s plan for reclamation activities in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
Chinese Coast Guard and Navy seized Panatag shoal after the April 2012 standoff with the Philippine Navy, when the latter apprehended and boarded Chinese vessels poaching in the area.
“Our naval and air assets have regular patrols from Benham Rise in the east and Panatag Shoal in the west. What assets I have right now, we use them for monitoring, search-and-rescue and interdiction operations,” said Tanalgo.
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