PAF conducts air patrol over possible war games venue in Batanes

Members of the Philippine Air Force aboard transport aircraft C-295 check the towns of Itbayat, Sabtang in Batanes and Babuyan Islands during an air patrol in this file photo taken on Feb 26, 2024. PHOTO FROM THE PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) conducted a routine air patrol in Batanes over the weekend amid the reported plans to conduct activities in the area for the annual war games between Manila and Washington.

PAF’s transport aircraft C-295 patrolled strategic areas including the towns of Itbayat, Sabtang in Batanes and Babuyan Islands on Saturday, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla.

“No significant activities or sightings were reported during the mission,” Padilla said in a regular AFP press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

Officials said military detachments on the uninhabited Mavulis Island and Basco town in Batanes province are being eyed as one of the potential venues of this year’s Balikatan exercises.

These areas are part of the country’s northernmost islands and closest to Taiwan, a self-ruled island which China regards as a renegade province subject to reunification.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. also ordered the development of more structures and ordered the military to increase its presence in Batanes, a move which earned the ire of Beijing.

READ: Teodoro calls for more structures, increased AFP presence in Batanes

But the Defense Department said China has no business warning the Philippines about its activities in the island province, saying the country is doing it for its own sake.