HEADLINE | Philippines, US to increase tempo of sea activities
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WASHINGTON – The Philippines has agreed to an “increased tempo” of maritime activities like joint patrols with the United States in the South China Sea, as Beijing resorts to more assertive actions in the disputed waters, the US defense chief revealed on Wednesday.
In a meeting at the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III assured President Marcos that the US will always have the Philippines’ back, being not just an “indispensable friend and ally” of the US but also “family” with a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
“As (US) President (Joe) Biden has made clear, our commitment to the defense of the Philippines is ironclad,” Austin said. “So make no mistake, Mr. President, we will always have your back, in the South China Sea or elsewhere in the region.”
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingAustin reiterated that the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) signed by the two countries in 1951 applies to armed attacks on their armed forces, coast guard vessels, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific including in the South China Sea.
In response, Marcos said the Philippines and the US enjoy a “longstanding and very robust” relationship and that the call of the times is for them to meet challenges they have not faced before.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said Marcos and Austin talked about conducting joint patrols in the South China Sea and reaffirmed their resolve to defend against armed attacks on their aircraft, public vessels and armed forces, including their respective coast guards, in the Pacific.
“The two leaders underscored their shared desire to deepen bilateral planning and operational cooperation including an increased tempo of combined maritime activities, such as joint patrols, to support the Philippines’ lawful exercise of its rights in the South China Sea,” Ryder said in a statement.
Last month, the Department of Foreign Affairs called on China to respect the Philippines’ rights over the South China Sea following a near collision between a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship and a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel in the West Philippine Sea.
Now, barely two weeks after that incident in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal, more than a hundred Chinese ships remain in the West Philippine Sea.
Defense guidelines
At the Pentagon, Marcos and Austin lauded the conclusion of new US-Philippines bilateral defense guidelines, which “chart their vision for alliance cooperation across all operational domains.”
The guidelines aim to modernize the alliance cooperation between Manila and Washington in line with their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Among the objectives of the guidelines is to deepen the interoperability between the militaries of the two countries, which involves expanding cooperation on maritime security and maritime domain awareness.
Before the meeting, Marcos was given full honors at the Pentagon, making him the first foreign head of state to receive such a treatment at the US defense department’s headquarters under the Biden administration.
A joint statement of the US-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue issued last month said the Philippines and the US have agreed to “finalize plans for the resumption of combined maritime activities, including the conduct of joint sails by the US and Philippine navies, in the South China Sea.”
The two countries also tackled plans to hold multilateral maritime activities with other like-minded partners in the South China Sea this year.
The Philippines and China are embroiled in a maritime row over portions of the South China Sea, a busy sea lane widely perceived to be a stage of the rivalry between Washington and Beijing in the region.
China, which claims virtually the entire South China Sea, has drawn flak from the US and other countries over the frequent harassment by the CCG of Philippine vessels and fishing boats in disputed waters.
EDCA sites, assets transfer
The Pentagon said Marcos and Austin had also discussed plans to “swiftly operationalize” the four new sites of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in northern Luzon and Palawan.
Signed in 2014, the EDCA grants the US military access to Philippine bases for training, prepositioning of equipment, and humanitarian efforts.
The four new EDCA sites are Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana, Cagayan; Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; Balabac Island in Palawan; and Lal-lo Airport in Cagayan.
Finally, Austin reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to bolstering Manila’s military defense capabilities, which involves the transfer of several American defense platforms to support the modernization efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
A White House statement said the US plans to transfer to the AFP two Island-class patrol vessels, two Protector-class patrol vessels, and three C-130H aircraft, pending applicable congressional notification requirements.
Marcos and Austin also talked about ways to coordinate more closely with like-minded nations, including Australia and Japan, to “strengthen shared principles, including the rule of law, freedom of the seas, and respect for territorial sovereignty.”
Ph, US launch air-to-air training
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) FA-50 fighter jets and the F-16 fighter planes of the United States Air Force (USAF) have commenced joint air-to-air training activities in Pampanga.
A military statement said the joint air-to-air training at Clark Air Base, Mabalacat City, Pampanga is part of the ongoing COPE-THUNDER 23-1 exercise that involves over 400 PAF airmen and 160 USAF service members.
The aim of the Counter Air training mission of the 5th Fighter Wing with the 14th Fighter Squadron of the Pacific Air Forces is to improve interoperability between the two air forces by undertaking integration flights on various air-to-air combat scenarios.
“The strategy and tactics learned during this training can be utilized by our security force across multiple spectrums of warfighting especially in compressed hostile environments,” said PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo.
Also, the 544th Security Forces Squadron under the 5th Fighter Wing of the PAF and their US counterparts conducted a Subject Matter Expert Exchange on Close Quarter Combat operations at the Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga.
The exercise began on Monday, two days after the closing of this year’s biggest ever Balikatan exercises that involved 17,600 Filipino and American troops.
Castillo revealed that CT-Ph23-1 and CT-Ph23-2 are the two iterations of Cope Thunder for 2023 with the first already in motion and the second to be held from July 2 to 21. – Evelyn Macairan, Michael Punongbayan
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