US PRESIDENT Joe Biden yesterday reaffirmed the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to the “defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea,” and its support to the country’s military’s modernization goals.
Biden made the commitment during a meeting (Monday in Washington),
with President Marcos Jr. who is on official visit to the US. The visit came on the heels of the conclusion of the “Balikatan” military exercises between the two countries and the identification of four more military camps and sites in the Philippines, that American soldiers can access.
Marcos, on the first White House visit by a Philippine leader in 10 years, stressed the importance of the United States as his country’s sole treaty ally in a region with “arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.”
The two officials also welcomed the four new sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed by the US and the Philippines in 2014.
“President Biden reaffirms the United States’ ironclad alliance commitments to the Philippines, underscoring that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, would invoke US mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” said a joint statement after the meeting.
“The leaders welcome the identification of new sites pursuant to the US-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which will strengthen Philippine security and support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization goals, while driving US investment to local communities across the Philippines and improving our shared ability to rapidly deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” it added.
Marcos and Biden also underscored their “unwavering commitment” to freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, as well as the importance of respecting the sovereign rights of states within their exclusive economic zones consistent with international law.
The two leaders also “support the right and ability of Filipino fisherfolk to pursue their traditional livelihoods. The leaders note the ruling of the 2016 arbitral tribunal, constituted pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”
The statement comes on the heels of the April 23 near-collision between a Philippine Coast Guard vessel and a Chinese ship off Ayungin Shoal in the South China Sea, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, based on a “nine-dash” policy which was invalidated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016.
NEW CHALLENGES
Biden, during an expanded meeting, said that when he first met Marcos on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September last year, the Filipino leader mentioned the need to “evolve” the Philippine-US relations amid developments in the world such as the threats from climate change. He said he agreed, just as he reaffirmed American’ support for the Filipinos.
“I’m using your phrase – ‘to evolve as we face the challenges of this new century.’ And we are facing new challenges. And I can’t think of any better partner to have than you. I couldn’t agree more that we have to. This relationship has to continue to evolve… The United States also remains ironclad in our commitment to the defense of the Philippines, including the South China Sea, and we’re going to continue to support the Philippines’ military modernization goals,” he said.
Marcos for his part said as both countries face difficult times ahead, there is need to find ways to strengthen alliances and partnerships in the face of the new economy following COVID-19 pandemic.
“Beyond that, there are also the issues, geopolitical issues that have made the region where the Philippines is, possibly, arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now. And so, it is only natural that, for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world, to strengthen and to redefine the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific regions,” he added.
The two leaders also affirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which they described as an “indispensable element of global security and prosperity.”
Washington sees the Philippines as key to any effort to counter an invasion of Taiwan by China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.
They reaffirmed their strong support for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and welcomed the commitment of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) to support a peaceful and stable, rules-based region with ASEAN at the center, through its efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific.
They also reiterated their support for Ukraine in its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, “noting that the conflict (with Russia) has adversely affected food and energy security in the Indo-Pacific.”
CLIMATE CHANGE
Marcos and Biden also talked of deepening the two countries’ ties by investing in clean energy transition and fighting climate change, upholding international peace and stability, and ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Biden committed to send a Presidential Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines to enhance American investment in the Philippines’ innovation economy, its clean energy transition and critical minerals sector, and food security of its people.
The US, meanwhile, plans to establish an Open-RAN Interoperability Lab in Manila as the two countries vowed to expand cooperation and share knowledge on environmental protection, including enhanced domain awareness, marine conservation, and protecting coastal areas from environmental degradation, through the Science and Technology Agreement (STA).
Biden and Marcos also underscored the need to strengthen democratic institutions, rule of law, and respect for human rights, including freedom of expression, press, and association; and talked of the importance of countering any form of violence, such as that against civil society, women, children, and marginalized groups.
They also welcomed the creation of a bilateral labor working group as part of the US-Philippines Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) which is seen to provide an opportunity for the United States and the Philippines to “work together on implementation of internationally recognized labor rights.”
FILIPINO RETIREES
The President, accompanied by First Lady Liza Marcos, presidential son and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, Speaker Martin Romualdez, former now Rep. President Gloria Arroyo and several Cabinet members met with the Filipino community in Washington to thank them for their support during the May 2022 elections.
The President encouraged them to consider returning to and retiring in the Philippines.
“Sooner or later, we will be able to welcome you back home to the Philippines, especially those who have reacquired their Filipino citizenship. It’s my hope that some of you will come home for good and retire in a much better Philippines, a Philippines with better airports, a Philippines with better roads, better airports, better internet, better governance.
That is my dream and that’s why that is what my administration is working for,” he said.
The President also asked them to bring their children and grandchildren to the Philippines to introduce them to the history and culture of the Filipinos.
Marcos also asked them to “bring home a friend,” a revival of the program which aims to promote the tourism industry.
He said the Filipinos abroad are the “ambassadors” of the country as they showcase the Filipino talents, hospitality, hard work and dedication which many foreign employers welcomed.
Filipinos from the nearby states of Maryland and Northern Virginia, Virginia Beach, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and even the Caribbean, attended the meeting with Marcos.
Also present were members of the Philippine Nurses Association and Global Migrant Heritage Foundation, teachers, former US Navy and veterans.
Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said there are some 4.3 million Filipinos residing in the US.
Among the Philippine officials who attended the expanded bilateral meeting were Migrant Workers Secretary Maria Susan Ople, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Information Secretary Uvan John Uy, and Environment Secretary Antonio Yulo Loyzaga.
NATIONAL CONSENSUS
Former Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said the county needs to “move as a nation” to advance the Philippine interest in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the South China Sea.
In a forum organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute, Bautista said one of the challenges faced by the country is “achieving national consensus” to face a “bigger adversary” alluding to China.
Bautista served as AFP chief from January 2013 to July 2014. He was still the AFP chief when the Philippines and the US signed the EDCA.
“For us to be able to really confront a bigger adversary, we need to move as a nation and to advance the Philippine narrative,” said Bautista.
Philippines is occupying nine features in the WPS, the largest of which is the Pag-asa Island which serves as the seat of government of Kalayaan town in Palawan.
China is claiming the entire South China Sea under its excessive nine-dash-line claim. It has turned aggressive in its claims over the past several years, going as far as conducting land reclamation of reefs it is occupying.
China has also harassed Philippine government vessels and Filipino fishing boats in the WPS, specifically inside the Philippines’200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
“We noticed even some Filipinos are advancing the Chinese narrative but we are Filipinos here… We need to advance the Philippine narrative as people. That is the essence the whole-of-nation approach,” said Bautista.
Bautista said the government adopted the “whole-of-nation” concept in the fight against internal security threats in 2010. He said the concept can be also applied when it comes to territorial defense.
Bautista said Philippines may not be a “strong nation” but it can assert its rights if there is “cohesiveness among Filipinos, if there is will among Filipinos.
He said Philippines lacks the capability to confront China military. Nevertheless, he said the will of the Filipino should not be underestimated “so we must achieve that national will to stand up for our rights.”
MODERNIZATION
In the same forum security experts said the Philippines should modernize its defense capabilities and work with like-minded partners such as the US, Australia and Japan to secure the country’s waters amid continued Chinese intrusion,
Virginia Watson, a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii, said Manila would benefit greatly from modernizing its defense capabilities that are crucial for the defense and protection of its territory and resources as well as for the promotion of its security interests.
“This call to upgrade and enhance defense capabilities is not new. In fact, the Philippine military has sustained a modicum of modernization these past three decades or so, but the security ramifications of modernizing today would be more meaningful as the Indo-Pacific strategic picture presents the Philippines with a nee set of threats, challenges and opportunities,” Watson said.
She said this “new problem set” include not only internal threats but also external ones, particularly those related to the West Philippine Sea, the growing threat of cybercrime, transnational trafficking of goods, people and other resources, piracy, climate change, terrorism and increasing “gray zone” activities.
Watson said addressing these challenges requires Manila not only to modernize its military capabilities but also to “re-conceptualize” defense modernization to use the maritime identity of the country as the “organizing principle” of defense strategy.
Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, Stratbase ADR president, said multilateral cooperation and the elevation of partnership with allies and friends would help in securing peace and stability in the region.
“With various elements attempting to tear down the rules-based international order, particularly in the West Philippine Sea, the Marcos Jr. administration must continue to engage with like-minded partners such as the United States, Australia and Japan, among others, to secure Philippine waters and contribute to the security of the region,” Manhit said.
Earlier, Washington and Manila disclosed plans to conduct maritime activities, including joint patrols, in the South China Sea with “like-minded” countries, in a move that would surely irritate China which claimed as its own nearly the entire waterway through which more than $3 trillion of goods passed annually.
The conduct of joint patrols was among the issues tackled in the 2+2 ministerial meeting in Washington last month between Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez and their US counterparts, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. — With Victor Reyes, Ashzel Hachero and Reuters
