Manila, July 14 -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday reiterated its will to defend Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) against hostile forces planning to capture it and its newly improved airfield.

"Your AFP is prepared to defend the Republic not only of Pag-asa Island, (but) any part of the country. The AFP is prepared to defend our sovereignty over that part," AFP spokesperson for the WPS Navy reservist Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, when asked if the military is capable of holding on to this vital infrastructure.

Likewise, Trinidad said AFP units in Pag-asa Island are not threatened by the Chinese presence in the area.

"We have never felt thr...