The Philippine Army on Thursday encouraged Ivatans, or the residents of Batanes, to become reservists after Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said he wanted an increased military presence in the country鈥檚 northernmost province, facing Taiwan.
Speaking to reporters in Taguig City, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, Philippine Army chief, said they supported the call of Teodoro for more military troops in Batanes.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not planning to deploy, we are encouraging our fellow Filipinos to volunteer, to be a patriot and be a reservist,鈥� Galido said.
The Army chief said residents in Batanes could be helpful in giving information to the military especially with the growing tension between Manila and Beijing due to a territorial conflict in the West Philippine Sea.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to deploy them because they are already residents in the area,鈥� he said, referring to Ivatans.
The Army, he said, has reservists stationed in the naval detachment on Mavulis Island, which is 140 kilometers from Taiwan鈥檚 southern tip.
鈥淪o the more we get reservists, the better for our country,鈥� he said.
Protecting sovereignty
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that Batanes, with six municipalities, has a population of 18,831 based on the 2020 census. The most populated is the provincial capital of Basco with 9,517 residents.
On Feb. 6, Teodoro, together with Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Romeo Brawner Jr. and other military officials, visited Batanes, including Mavulis Island.
Teodoro also inspected the construction of the Naval Forward Operating Base in Mahatao town on the main island of Batan.
Aside from 鈥渁n increased AFP presence鈥� in Batanes, the defense chief said he also wanted the development of more military structures in the province to fortify the country鈥檚 territorial defense.
Teodoro鈥檚 plan to increase military presence in Batanes has angered China, with Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin warning the Philippines not to 鈥減lay with fire.鈥滲ut the Department of National Defense said: 鈥淏atanes is Philippine territory and China has no business warning the Philippines about what it does within its territory.鈥�
Security analyst Chester Cabalza, president and founder of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, earlier told the Inquirer that building new military bunkers and naval detachments in Batanes was 鈥渘ecessary to achieve a strong deterrence in protecting the national sovereignty of the Philippines.鈥�
鈥淏atanes completes the strategic importance of shielding the northern corridor for territorial defense as it can become a buffer zone in case of conflict, given its closeness to Taiwan,鈥� Cabalza said.