Pinalakas ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ang kanilang puwersa sa Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) o Spratly Group of Islands.
Sinabi ni AFP Public Affairs Office (PAO) na ginawa nag hakbang upang mapalakas nila ang kanilang presensiya at maigiit ang sobereniya ng Pilipinas.
Ito ay dahil na rin sa pagtungo nila sa external security operation (ESO) mula sa matagumpay na internal security operation (ISO).
“With our substantial gains on ISO, a shift to external security operation is in the horizon as we strengthen our security posture with the increased conduct of aerial and surface maritime patrols through our naval and air force air assets and ground forces,” ani Ileto.
Dagdag pa nito; “The deployment of additional surface patrol ships increased the AFP’s presence in the KIG to about 90 percent of the time. This is a dramatic increase from the baseline of 30 percent in 2022.”
Nabatid na inilipat na sa Palawan ang Naval Special Operations Unit ng Philippine Navy, gayundin ang Philippine Marine Corps, samantalang ang pinalakas ang presensiya ng 4th Marine Brigade .
Patuloy naman ang pagbili ng air surveillance radar systems para mas mapaigting ang pagbabantay sa rehiyon.