THE Armed Forces yesterday said the ongoing joint maritime patrol between the armed forces of United States and Philippines in the contested West Philippine Sea (WPS) is meant to assert the country’s rights in the area.
AFP spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar also said the three-day patrol which started on Tuesday is not intended to escalate the tension in the WPS, where China has become aggressive in the past months.
“It is a show of our firm resolve to assert our sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and commitment to uphold such conventions that promote peaceful resolution of maritime conflicts,” said Aguilar.
The patrol, also called “maritime cooperative activity,” involved ships and aircraft from the US and the Philippines. It started in Mavulis Island in Batanes and will end in the WPS today.
“It is not meant to escalate the tension and all our actions and intentions are in accordance with international laws and conventions,” said Aguilar, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, and Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea.
Aguilar said the military expects China to respect the decision of US and Philippines to conduct a joint patrol, noting that “all our actions are in accordance with international law.”
Aguilar said China should also promote peace in the area and abide by international laws and conventions.
China has harassed military resupply missions at the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal in the WPS in the past months. Some of these incidents involved pointing by a Chinese vessel of military-grade laser at a Philippine Coast Guard ship, which caused temporary blindness of the ship’s crewmembers, and collision and water cannoning incidents.
Aguilar, on whether they are expecting a negative reaction from China to the joint patrol, Aguilar said: “I don’t know how they (Chinese) will react, that’s why we are saying we hope and expect they will do the same.”
Aguilar was referring to the expectation that China will promote of peace and observe international laws and conventions.
“There should be no dangerous maneuvers, there should be no harassments, and there should be no use of water cannons,” said Aguilar.
RULES PROMOTION
Aguilar declined to answer questions whether the joint patrol was in response to China’s recent harassments in the WPS, saying he was not planning of the activity.
In a radio interview, Aguilar said the objective of the joint patrol “is to promote rules based international order, to maintain peace and stability in the region.”
On whether there will be similar joint patrols with US in the future, Aguilar said, “We will see what will happen or how it will develop, if we are able to accomplish our objective.”
Told that the joint patrol may anger China, Aguilar stressed the Philippines and the US are following international laws and conventions.
“So I think there is no reason for any other party to take this activity against us or against the US because we are not violating any law here. If one part will take an action that will lead to a conflict, then it is their problem and it is them to be blamed,” said Aguilar.
Yesterday, the military provided pictures and videos of Philippine Air Force (PAF) aircraft flying alongside US aircraft in Batanes and WPS on the first day of the joint patrol.
“This activity is part of the ongoing AFP efforts to boost interoperability with its US counterparts and enhance regional security in cooperation with its longtime allies,” said PAF spokeswoman Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo.
“The PAF remains committed in ensuring the readiness of its air assets to support the AFP’s efforts in protecting our national territory and maritime interests as well as maintaining peace and security in the region,” said Castillo.
AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the flight “is aimed at testing joint flight doctrines and further enhancing interoperability and fostering regional cooperation between the long-standing allies.”
PATROLS WITH OTHER ALLIES
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez yesterday said Manila is reaching out to other like-minded nations for the conduct of joint patrols in the WPS.
“We are also working with other countries like Australia, Japan, and even South Korea and perhaps sometime in the future we are going to have a multilateral joint patrol,” Romualdez told CNN Philippines.
“The President was very clear that he wants to see a combination of other countries that have the same interests to make sure that the waters are free from any kind of harassment from other countries,” he added of the idea of holding multilateral patrols in the WPS.
He said Manila is also talking about the conduct of joint patrols to Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur.
“There is an indication that both countries, Vietnam and Malaysia, are very interested into also being able to protect the waters from any kind of interference,” Romualdez added.
Vietnam and Malaysia are among the countries claiming parts of the South China Sea, along with the Philippines, China, Brunei and Taiwan.
Romualdez also said there is no indication the US will join resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal but it sent maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles to monitor the missions.
Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels have repeatedly blocked supply the runs.
The idea of holding multilateral patrols in the WPS was broached several times in the past by Romualdez and retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.
BRP SIERRA MADRE
Romualdez said the country is working with experts from other countries to shore up BRP Sierra Madre and ensure the safety and welfare of the Filipino troops there.
“What we are trying to do here is to get some advice on how we can stabilize it, and make it still safe for many of our soldiers who are staying on that ship,” he said, adding they have reached out to engineers and technical experts from the US and other countries.
“They have given us an indication of where it would be best to try to anchor the ship perhaps,” he said.
But Romualdez did not provide details adding he was not privy to all the details and the advice sought.
The BRP Sierra Madre is a World War II-era Landing Ship Tank provided by the US as military aid to the Philippines and was grounded in 1999 to strengthen the country’s claim in the area in response to what the Department of Foreign Affairs said is China’s “illegal occupation” in 1995 of Panganiban Reef or Mischief Reef.
The dilapidated vessel with a small contingent of Filipino Marines remains a commissioned ship of the Philippine Navy.
‘DISCONNECT’
Romualdez also said Chinese President Xi Jinping wants Beijing and Manila to settle the tension in the South China Sea.
He said Marcos Jr. told Xi of his concerns over the ongoing maritime territorial dispute and for both countries to find ways to prevent the tension in the area from spiraling into an armed conflict.
“In the end, President Xi just simply said that we should just keep talking about it and from the readout I saw from our report is that President Xi said that let’s just have our military talk about all these things, our militaries to resolve these things in the West Philippine Sea,” Romualdez said of the meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Conference in California last week.
However, Romualdez said Xi’s response to Marcos’ concern is not encouraging at all as it showed that Beijing did not show any sign that it is easing up on the activities of its ships in the area.
“It goes to show there is really a disconnect in everything,” he said, adding that Manila will always work to find ways to have a dialogue with Beijing and resolve any dispute peacefully. — With Ashzel Hachero
