IN October 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte announced his “separation” from the United States, declaring he had realigned with China, which assured him that the South China Sea dispute will be resolved via diplomacy.
Duterte’s Beijing-friendly postures, however, failed to change China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. The Philippine government has filed 231 diplomatic protests against Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea in the six years that Duterte was in Malacañang. China continued to disregard the Philippines’ national sovereignty and territorial integrity in pursuit of its expansionist policy.
From Bloomberg, February 5, 2023: “Two Chinese coast guard ships and two militia vessels tailed a Philippine warship near Mischief Reef in the South China Sea, the Southeast Asian nation said. The navy’s BRP Andres Bonifacio was conducting a patrol and search mission on Feb. 1 when it was monitored and tailed by the Chinese vessels near the reef, which is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, said Armand Balilo, a spokesman for the coast guard. The militia boats “even conducted an intercept course,” he added.”
As tensions continue to rise between Manila and Beijing because of China’s incursions in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, the US and the Philippines have agreed to resume joint patrols in the South China Sea. The decision was reached on Thursday between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez, according to the Pentagon website.
The joint US-Philippines patrols were among the key recommendations by a US private group, whose members are composed of former government officials, security experts and members of think tanks, to the administration of President Joe Biden as America seeks to revitalize its moribund bilateral relations with the Philippines, which was strained during the Duterte administration.
Besides the joint patrols, the Department of National Defense said it has agreed to designate four more additional locations for rotating American troops under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
The announcements drew a fiery response from Beijing, which has long protested against the US military presence in the South China Sea. China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the US has “adhered to a Cold War zero-sum mentality” through a regional military expansion. “This is an act that escalates tensions in the region and endangers regional peace and stability,” Mao said.
The government’s announcement of a “restart” for joint maritime patrols with the United States has raised questions, including whether it could stop China’s incursions in the Kalayaan Island Group and West Philippine Sea (WPS). While the country’s new maritime security arrangement with its treaty partner poses the greatest challenge yet to Beijing’s presence in disputed waters, the question remains: can it halt China’s march in those maritime waters? (Read, “Can PHL-US joint patrols scale back China’s moves in Kalayaan, WPS zone?,” in the BusinessMirror, February 6, 2023)
For some legislators and even the Department of National Defense, the joint maritime patrols will limit, if not stop, Beijing’s unchallenged intrusions in the Kalayaan Island Group and WPS, and revert the use of its vast waters to Filipino fishermen.
“Senator Francis Escudero also emphasized that joint patrols would help reduce encroachments and acts of harassment in the area,” Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said, as he recalled reactions to the agreement announced in last week’s visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III.
It will also challenge China’s presence in Scarborough Shoal near Zambales, whose control it wrested from the Philippines in 2012 following a standoff. Beijing has sealed off the shoal from Filipinos who have made it their traditional fishing grounds for centuries.The agreement on joint maritime patrols was the most important arrangement so far that the country has notched with the US in years, returning US-Philippines defense relations to a significant level.
The joint patrols, seen to counter China’s incursions in the country’s exclusive economic zone, should help stop incidents of harassment against Filipino fishermen and other local vessels in the West Philippine Sea. After all, Filipino fishermen have the freedom to fish in our seas.