THE report by The Manila Times on Dec. 5, 2023 ('Proposals to fortify Ayungin weighed') quoted what it identified as a security expert named Raymond Powell as saying: 'Building a forward operating base (FOB), much less undertaking major repairs on the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal, will depend on how far the Philippines and its ally, the United States, are willing to risk it, since China appears committed to enforcing a blockade of the shoal.'

According to Powell, the primary issue is how to get a new structure built that will replace the Philippine Navy ship that was intentionally grounded in Ayungin in 1999.