By Priam Nepomuceno | Philippine News Agency
A ranking Philippine Navy official on Tuesday said the rotation and reprovisioning (RORE) for Filipino troops manning the country’s nine features in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has been completed in time for the holiday season.
“The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) through Western Command conducted rotation of troops and reprovisioning of our forces on the nine features from 3 December to 14 December. These activities were conducted successfully,” Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
He also added that there were no untoward incidents monitored during the RORE activity.
However, Trinidad said two China Coast Guard and two People’s Liberation Army Navy ships were spotted near Ayungin Shoal but the ships did not do anything illegal or coercive.
Trinidad said various ships of the AFP were used in the mission.
“A different mix of assets (were used) considering that we targeted the nine different features, nine detachments of the AFP,” Trinidad said.
He said the highlight of the RORE mission was the delivery of the Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) package for the troops manning these features.
He also said that the morale of the military officers were high and they were willing to perform their “mandate without any fanfare, over sea, land, or air.”
Trinidad considers the year 2024 a successful one as the AFP performed its mandate amid all the challenges it faced in the WPS, on the Philippines’ northern islands, and even on its eastern seaboard.
“We look forward to more accomplishments of the AFP in the year 2025,” Trinidad said.