MANILA - The militaries of the Philippines and the United States launched joint patrols on Nov 21 in waters near Taiwan, said Philippine officials, a move likely to fan further tension with China.
Security engagements between the treaty allies have soared in 2023, including a decision to almost double the number of Philippine bases the US military can access – some facing Taiwan – and their largest-ever joint military drill in April.
This week’s three-day joint air and maritime exercise was a “significant initiative” to boost inter-operability between the two, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said.
“I am confident this... will contribute to a more secure and stable environment for our people,” he said on social media platform X.
The patrol would take place off the island of Mavulis, according to Colonel Eugene Cabusao of the Northern Luzon command. The island is the northern-most point of the Philippines, located about 100km off Taiwan.
It will end in the West Philippine Sea, the name Manila uses for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Philippine military said three navy vessels, two FA-50 light combat aircraft and a A-29B Super Tucano light attack plane would participate, while the US would send a littoral combat ship and a P8-A maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.
The announcement came a day after Mr Marcos told a forum in Hawaii that the situation in the South China Sea had become more “dire than it was before”, with the Chinese military having inched closer to the Philippine coastline.
The patrols, which are likely to irk China, are a sign the Philippines is stepping up its defence posture amid what it described as China’s “aggressive activities” in the highly strategic waters, long seen as a potential flashpoint between the US and China.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the exercise.
China claims most of the South China Sea through a “nine-dash line” that stretches as far as 1,500km south of its mainland, cutting into the EEZ of rival claimants such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Mr Marcos in 2023 rekindled Manila’s ties with Washington after its testy relationship with a predecessor who had pivoted closer to China, despite Beijing developing military installations on man-made islands within the Philippines’ EEZ.
Ties with China have soured under Mr Marcos, with repeated stand-offs between Chinese and Filipino vessels in waters claimed by both countries, prompting heated exchanges of rhetoric and concerns of an escalation.
Mr Marcos recently met Chinese President Xi Jinping in a bid to reduce the tensions.
Professor Jay Batongbacal, director of the Manila-based Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the joint patrol with the US showed that Manila was making a stand over the South China Sea.
“It shows that the Philippines is really firming up its posture on West Philippine Sea issues,” he said. REUTERS
