The Philippines is working together with “like-minded” countries such as the United States of America to protect its maritime interests in the South China Sea (SCS), particularly the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
This was emphasized by Department of National Defense (DND) Officer-in-Charge Jose Faustino Jr. during his meeting with US Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday, Sept. 29 (US time).
“Admittedly, the volatile situation in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea remains as the Philippines’ form of security concern and as it is right now, we continue to engage with like-minded countries and make sure that the rule of law and the rules based on international order will prevail in the South China Sea,” Faustino said.
The Philippines won its case against China's overlapping claims in the WPS in SCS in 2016. A tribunal ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration invalidated China's nine-dash line claims in SCS on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) but it continues to ignore the ruling.
Under the present administration, Faustino underscored that the Philippines puts premium on diplomacy and dialogue for the peaceful resolution of issues in the SCS.
There appears to be a lull in the tension between the Philippines and China’s territorial row in the SCS as attention shifts to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia after the latter’s attempt for an invasion. Ukraine is being assisted by the United States while Russia is backed by China.
But the security situation in SCS outside of the Philippines and China’s sphere is reaching new heights, with North Korea reportedly testing three large ballistic missiles in the past week alone. Reports stated that Pyongyang will also hold a nuclear test, challenging the capability of the Philippines to enhance its security in the SCS.
To prepare for any eventuality, Faustino said that the Philippines continues to bank on the PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), a defense pact signed in 1951 which states that both nations will support each other in case of an attack from an external party; as well as the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which allow for the extended stay and rotation of US troops in the Philippines with an exemption from visa and passport and regulations.
“ has been the basis of the national defense policy of our country and we look forward after this bilateral meeting that we have a more robust cooperation particularly in issues pertaining to external threats to our countries,” Faustino stated.
This was echoed by Austin: “We remain committed to maintaining an open and free Indo-Pacific region. We want to maintain the ability to sail the seas and navigate the skies as we should be allowed to do and we will continue to work on that.”
“I cannot imagine a day when the US and PH aren’t allies. It’s who we are. Again, I consider us to be more family. But today, we’ve been able to move forward our VFA and we discussed EDCA which is critical to our alliance cooperation,” he added.
Ukraine-Russia conflict
Meanwhile, Austin also provided updates on the US’ efforts to help Ukraine in defending its territory from the military invasion of Russia.
Recently, Ukraine accused Russia of a “terror attack” by allegedly causing leaks into Nord Stream 1 and 2, which are two major gas pipelines to Europe.
Accordingly, Pentagon is planning to set up a new Army command in Ukraine to help train and arm its citizens.
“We and our allies are committed to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to defend its sovereign territory. We’ll continue to do that. In terms of the options that Mr. Putin has, one significant option that he’s always had, that is in this conflict today, to withdraw from Ukraine,” Austin said.
“That option existed from day one. It exists now. And so he will always have an option, and I hope he will exercise that option in the near future and bring it into the needless devastation that we have seen thus far,” he added.
The Philippines continues to be affected by the Ukraine-Russia conflict as it caused massive inflation driven by rising prices of imported products such as oil. However, the Philippines will remain “neutral” on the conflict, according to National Security Adviser (NSA) Clarita Carlos.