Gov t effort to protect West Philippine Sea is weak expert By JOVILAND RITA, GMA News
Published April 14, 2021 2:48pm
People s Liberation Army Navy corvette in West Philippine Sea An expert cited Wednesday the sluggish push by the Philippine government to protect its claims over the West Philippines Sea (WPS), while China increases the presence of its navy and militia vessels in the territory. In a forum by the Stratbase ADR Institute for Strategic and International Studies, Simulatiry co-founder and CEO of Liz Derr said more WPS features will be taken by other countries if this weak approach continues. “Unfortunately, the Philippines is weak. We ve seen and documented what other claimants have been doing to shore up their claims,” she said.
Philippines urged to construct monitoring stations in unoccupied areas in its EEZ MICHAELA DEL CALLAR,GMA News Screencap from Simularity presentation The Philippines would need to build monitoring outposts in unoccupied features within its exclusive economic zone to deter foreign incursions in the West Philippine Sea, an American tech firm said Wednesday. Liz Derr, founder and CEO of Simularity, which specializes in geospatial analysis and provides satellite data imagery, said the Philippines can choose key unoccupied areas within its EEZ where it could put up stations while increasing patrols within its waters. “If you are serious about protecting your sovereignty and your people, you need to actively monitor, patrol and occupy features in your EEZ,” Derr told an online forum hosted by Stratbase-ADR Institute.