WARSHIPS of Australia, Canada, and the Philippines on Wednesday held exercises near Scarborough Shoal, site of two recent incidents of harassment by China, one leading to a collision between two Chinese vessels.
The drills east of Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, were conducted under “Exercise Alon 2025” which is primarily a bilateral activity between Philippines and Australia.
The military said the ships BRP Jose Rizal from the Philippine Navy, HMAS Brisbane from the Australian Navy, and HMCS Ville de Québec from the Canadian Navy, sailed from El Nido, Palawan.
“(They) proceeded northward and conducted exercises east of Bajo de Masinloc as part of the broader Exercise ALON 2025,” the Armed Forces said in a statement.
The military said the drills included air defense exercise which “honed the participants’ capability to counter simulated aerial threats through coordinated defensive measures” and a ”photo exercise” that showcased “precision formation sailing and multinational naval professionalism.”
“As a key component of Exercise Alon 2025, this engagement reaffirms the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ commitment to advancing defense cooperation with like-minded nations,” the statement added.
Exercise Alon 2025, involving some 3,600 military personnel, opened on August 15 in Palawan and is due to end today. Closing rites are set to be held at the AFP general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
On August 11, a Chinese Navy and Chinese Coast Guard vessel chased a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel which was distributing fuel and supplies to Filipino fishermen at the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal.
The PCG vessel, BRP Suluan, outmaneuvered the two Chinese vessels which later collided. The impact caused substantial damage on the Chinese Coast Guard vessel, officials said.
Two days later, a Chinese fighter jet intercepted a PCG aircraft conducting routine maritime patrol over the shoal. The Chinese aircraft flew about 200 meters above a PCG aircraft.
China gained control of Scarborough in 2012, after a standoff with Philippine government vessels. Since then, the Chinese have prevented Filipinos from fishing in the shoal’s lagoon.
AYUNGIN SHOAL
A Chinese Navy tugboat has left Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea but 17 other Chinese vessels are still in the vicinity of the Philippine-occupied feature, said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
The tugboat was spotted in the area last Monday.
The military has downplayed the tugboat’s presence at the shoal, noting it would take more than one tugboat to tow away BRP Sierra Madre, a rusting Navy ship where Filipino troops occupying Ayungin Shoal are billeted.
“As of (August) 26, It can no longer be seen (in the area),” Trinidad said of the tugboat. He did not say where the vessel went.
The military has observed increased Chinese presence at Ayungin, where the military has been observing an average of nine Chinese vessels daily.
From 16 (including the tugboat) as of last Monday, Trinidad said number of Chinese vessels at the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal was down to 14, mostly maritime militia vessels, as of last Tuesday.
“While it is lower than the report on the 20th of August, it is still much higher than the normal average of seven,” he said.
On August 20, five CCG vessels, 11 rigid-hulled inflatable boats or fast boats and nine maritime militia vessels were seen by the military conducting maritime exercise, including the use of water cannon, near the shoal.
“Whatever the posturing of the other side, our troops will keep on maintaining the watch of warship,” said Trinidad.
ONE-CHINA POLICY
Sen. Erwin Tulfo is pushing for a review of the country’s One-China Policy for what he said is “unfair” treatment on Manila by Beijing.
“While we respect what they want, while we don’t interfere in their affairs between China and Taiwan, what about our position as neighbors that they can just trample. They can just come into our territory and interfere with our affairs … I think it’s high time that we think our position if we must continue to observe this One China Policy because of the fact na hindi naman po tayo ginagalang (that they are not respecting us),” Tulfo said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday on the status of the policy.
He said China has been increasing its presence and bullying the country’s vessels on the West Philippine Sea despite the hundreds of diplomatic protests and dialogues held between the two countries, which he said just fell on deaf ears.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said there are mechanisms aimed at easing tension between the two countries.
She said there is the “bilateral consultative mechanism” of the South China Sea that is at the level of the foreign ministry, which may not have seem to have much impact but it worked when one of the country’s Navy personnel lost a finger during China’s aggression in Ayungin Shoal on June 17, 2024.
She said the agreement was for the Philippines to inform China before it sends boats to BRP Siera Madre.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs, together with our Chinese colleagues, came up with a provisional agreement. This provisional arrangement is in consonance also with the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas), and that it is stated there, so the RORE (rotation and resupply) mission, wala pong incident if you notice (you can notice that there are no more incidents),” Lazaro said.
Tulfo said the agreement may have been good, but China became aggressive anew, this time sending its People’s Liberation Navy to shoo away Philippine vessels within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
He said this was after a Chinese navy ship collided with its China Coast Guard while trying to block the path of the Philippine Coast Guard.
“It’s like bringing a pen to a gunfight. And then diplomacy without deterrence is weakness,” he said.
Lazaro maintained that the DFA will adhere to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s pronouncement that the Philippines will settle misunderstandings through diplomacy.
“But we still are of the view, and strongly state, that diplomacy still has an important role in this issue. It may not be immediate, but diplomacy definitely has a very important role,” she said.
Lazaro added that the Philippines still adheres to the One-China Policy as it does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
She said the country is observing the 1975 joint communique between China which she said “is foundational to the good relations between both countries.”
She said “successive administrations” have also observed and reinforced policy by way of separate but related issuances, and the Philippines has long-standing relations with Taiwan “and we therefore benefit from the continued engagement with them.”
“But just to add a little bit more, we do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state. We leave it to the Chinese people to resolve cross-straits matters,” she added.
COORDINATION
Lazaro said the Philippines will ask for a dialogue with China to get an assurance that it will allow the timely repatriation of some 168,000 documented Filipinos in Taiwan once tension escalates there.
At present, Lazaro said, talks between the Philippines and China are limited to the issues in the West Philippine Sea and “consular consultations” and it is high time that the matter on repatriating Filipinos be discussed.
She said reports of increased military exercises of China and Taiwan are something that needs to be looked into.
“I think it’s about time to also come up with these discussions. I believe that we need to start,” she added.
Senators also asked the DFA if the Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines will be invoked once the country is affected by the possible armed confrontation due to the proximity of the country to Taiwan.
Lazaro said EDCA sites in the country are meant for humanitarian and disaster response operations, and she does not have knowledge if the Philippines will agree for the US to use EDCA sites as a staging point once conflict escalates in Taiwan.
She also said these are operational matters which she cannot answer.
Tulfo moved to issue subpoenas to officials of the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces for not attending the hearing.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. was one of the invited resource persons but no one from the DND represented him. – With Raymond Africa
