MANILA, Philippines — The 4,000 newly-recruited members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) must undergo a crash course on the Philippine Maritime Zones Act for a deeper understanding of current issues, specifically the recurring  conflict in the West Philippine Sea.

This was the recommendation by Senator Francis Tolentino to the PCG, through its spokesperson Commodore Algier Ricafrente, saying that they should undergo “beyond basic training and physical formations” regarding the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

“This would help them better understand the metes and bounds of our territorial sea, international waters, exclusive economic zone, and so on. These are basic knowledge, but very important, especially when there are challenges [to foreign ships entering the WPS],” the senator said.

Recently, China Coast Guard’s “Monster” ship was spotted off the Zambales coast and left after but was replaced by a smaller CCG vessel. 

Ricafrente told Tolentino that the new recruits, who will be deployed to various regional offices, have bolstered the PCG’s personnel, which currently stands at 35,000.

The new recruits will be deployed to several regional offices, he said.

The maritime act outlines the Philippines’ internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and other maritime areas based on the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling.

Since the arbitral tribunal’s ruling in favor of the Philippines, Beijing has not honored the decision, leading to a series of violent encounters between China and the Philippines in recent years.