PH to seek US help in resupply if troops run out of supplies
BAGUIO CITY -- The Philippines will only seek America's help to resupply the troops at a grounded World War II warship in Ayungin Shoal if "they're on the verge of dying" due to hunger, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Thursday.
"When our troops are already hungry, they don't have any supplies anymore because our resupply missions have been blocked and that they're on the verge of dying, then that's the time we're going to seek the help of the United States," AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a press conference following the Mutual Defense Board - Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) meeting between US and Philippines.
However, Brawner said the military "still have a lot of options" to provide supplies for its troops stationed in BRP Sierra Madre.
"We are going to do the mission unilaterally. We will depend on ourselves first, and we will try to exhaust all the options first before asking for help. After we exhaust all of the options and nothing works, then that's the time we can ask for help. What we want to say is, as long as we can, we will do it," he said.
Brawner said the Philippine military '' is very much capable of conducting the RoRe safely and successfully.''
He said the AFP is '' in cooperation, in collaboration with the Philippine Coast Guard, with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and, in fact, we have the whole-of-nation approach behind us."
On his part, US Indo Pacific Command head Admiral Samuel Paparo Jr. reiterated that the United States "stand(s) ready" to help the Philippines resupply its troops in Ayungin Shoal.
"We stand ready. It's a matter of policy, post-consultation, and there's a range of options that are available," he said.
It can be recalled that last rotation and resupply mission for BRP Sierra Madre was successfully conducted last July 27 following the bilateral consultation mechanism between the Philippines and China last month.
The BCM between the two nations was held early last month to de-escalate the tension between China and Philippines after a Filipino soldier lost his right thumbed after the Chinese Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippine rubber boat during the resupply mission last June. Robina Asido/DMS
