Manila, Jan. 7 -- A ranking naval official said the Philippine Navy (PN) is ready for the possibility that Chinese maritime forces might carry out more incursions in the country's waters, especially the West Philippine Sea (WPS), this year.

In an interview with reporters late Tuesday, PN spokesperson for the WPS, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said the Navy, along with the rest of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), is prepared to carry out "comprehensive archipelagic defense operations."

"Yung direksyon naman ng ating (the direction of the) Armed Forces is very clear. We are here to implement 'comprehensive archipelagic defense operations.' This would mean that we should be able to secure and to protect all the way up to our...