A defense naval base will be built in Catanduanes to protect the island province from any possible foreign intrusion.
Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua told Manila Standard he is scouting for an at least five-hectare lot where the naval base may be constructed as a Chinese-flagged vessel keeps loitering near the province.
“It could be somewhere in the town of Viga or Panganiban, Catanduanes,” Cua said.
The governor added he did not personally see the vessel but only learned of its presence from the news.
The spotted Chinese vessel is quite distant as it is almost four times the travel from Albay to Catanduanes, he explained.
However, the governor said his office already wrote a letter to the concerned authorities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) asking for an update.
“Hopefully we don’t get involved like what is currently happening in the West Philippine Sea,” Cua said in Filipino.