ARMED Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr and US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) commander Adm. Samuel Paparo are due to meet next week in Baguio City to discuss issues of mutual concerns, including “activities” that will be pursued by the two armed forces next year, the military said yesterday.
The annual Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) meeting, set for Thursday next week, seeks to further enhance the relations of the two sides, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla also said.
The MDB-SEB meeting will take place after two recent incidents of Chinese harassment of Philippine ships and an aircraft in the West Philippine Sea. The Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines requires the parties to come to each other’s defense in case of an armed attack.
On August 8, two Chinese multi-role fighters executed “dangerous maneuver” and dropped flares in the path Philippine Air Force aircraft over Scarborough Shoal, endangering the lives of the Filipino pilots and crew.
On August 19, two Chinese Coast Guard vessels harassed two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels near Escoda Shoal, also known as Sabina Shoal, leaving huge holes on the Philippine government vessels which were out to deliver supplies to troops at two Philippine-occupied islands.
On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano and his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, spoke by phone and “raised grave concerns” over the two incidents, according to a statement issued by the National Security Council.
Yesterday, a readout issued by the US side said Sullivan “condemned the People’s Republic of China’s deliberate collision with two Philippine Coast Guard vessels operating lawfully near Sabina Shoal in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone on August 19.”
“Mr. Sullivan reiterated the ironclad U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, which extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft – to include those of its Coast Guard – anywhere in the South China Sea,” the readout added.
Padilla said the MBD-SEB meeting “serves as a crucial venue to discuss and establish mutually agreed-upon policy directions on defense and security issues.”
“It also facilitates the approval of the activity lists for calendar year 2025,” she also said.
The activities Padilla was referring to include military exercises due to be held next year.
The two sides, during last year’s MDB-SEB meeting, approved over 500 activities for this year. The number is higher compared to 496 activities approved for 2023.
“The regular convening of the MDB-SEB underscores the long-standing relationship between the Philippine and US militaries, concluding a year of bilateral planning and training between the allied forces,” said Padilla.
“The MDB-SEB further strengthens the cooperation between the Philippines and the United States, reaffirming both nations’ shared commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and the joint pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific region against the backdrop of a rules-based international order,” she said.
Apart from harassing Philippine ships, China is also accused of destroying corals in the West Philippine Sea.
In a forum yesterday, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said China’s activities show a “pattern or a mindset of disregard for international norms by the government of China.”
“It is another piece of evidence that the world should know and it adds to the pileup of violations that they have so far committed not only in the West Philippine Sea but in other areas,” he said.
“(These) show that their version of international law is a perverted one, sad to say, but it is what it is,” he added.
Asked for an update on government’s plan to file charges against China before an international tribunal, Teodoro said the National Maritime Council is the proper agency to provide such information. — With Raymond Africa
