US has no participation in rotation, resupply mission in Ayungin
National Security Council Secretary Eduardo Ano assures that the United States does not have direct participation in the government's rotation and resupply mission for the troops in Ayungin Shoal after the revelation that there is a task force.
"It's purely, solely a Philippine armed forces, I mean Philippine forces operation, the Wescom (Western Command) supported by the Philippine Coast Guard," Ano told reporters in an interview during the joint opening ceremony of the 25th ASEAN Chiefs of Army Multilateral Meeting (ACAMM), and the 12th ASEAN Sergeants Major Annual Meeting (ASMAM) in Pampanga on Thursday.
Ano said he cannot answer specific questions about the US Task Force- Ayungin, noting that it is an internal matter to the United States.
"This is a US task force, meaning to say it is internal to them on how they will support the Armed Forces," he said.
Ano said among the support being provided by American troops in Palawan includes maritime domain awareness and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
"We have good discussions and sharing of information and they are also offering some technical support. So it's purely on support operations," he said.
"But on actual direct participation, it's purely a Philippine operation," he added.
The existence of the US Task Force - Ayungin was revealed after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited its troops in Palawan last Tuesday.
During his visit, Austin thanked the US troops who are part of the task force "for their hard work on behalf of the American people". During his visit early this week, Austin also condemned China's dangerous actions against the lawful operations of the Philippine forces in the South China Sea.
"The behavior of the PRC (People's Republic of China) has been concerning. They've used dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims," he said.
Despite China's illegal activities and aggression in the West Philippine Sea, Ano said that the Philippines "still have diplomatic relationships with China."
"We cooperate and we have a trade relationship with China. Whatever conflict in the West Philippine Sea is not the totality of the relationship," he said.
Ano said the diplomatic dialogue between the Philippines and China continues.
"We have a bilateral consultation mechanism. We try to manage and ease the tension so we have not stopped our diplomatic relationship with China, and continue to increase," he added. Robina Asido/DMS
