The Philippines and Australia will “soon” hold joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea where tensions have been high over increased Chinese incursions in the area.
“We are working closely together. Doing joint sails is something that we’ve been keen to pursue now for some time. The two defense forces have been working together to make that happen and to do that in the most effective way,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense chief Richard Marles said.
“We’re really pleased with the progress of the discussions. We expect the first of those joint patrols to happen in the not too distant future,” Marles added.
US Congress’ commitment
As this developed, visiting US lawmakers committed American military action to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty if Filipino forces came under an armed attack.
“We stand in full support to honor our commitment to stand by your sovereignty and security,” Illinois Rep. Jonathan Jackson said in an interview with GMA News.
“Congress will stand united in supporting that, yes, and that includes attacks on Philippine vessels,” said California Rep. Young Kim.
“We are united in the House as well as I would speak for the Senate and say that we are united against the aggressiveness not only here but the aggressiveness that we see with the PRC (China) throughout the world right now. So, it is important that we support the Philippines because we can’t allow China or any other country to decide that they want to engage in lawless activities and that’s exactly what we see going on,” added Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
The lawmakers separately met with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and top Philippine Coast Guard officials Thursday.
‘Prepare for any eventuality’
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said joint drills are an “important aspect in how we prepare for any eventuality.”
“This is our continuing effort to strengthen our capabilities and to have a closer working relationship with the militaries of our neighbors around the region,” Marcos said in an interview in Zambales on Friday where he witnessed Exercise Alon, the first-ever large-scale amphibious landing military exercise involving the Philippines, Australia and the United States.
“Considering that there have been so many events that attest to the volatility of the region, this kind of exercise, this kind of close strategic cooperation between countries around the region is extremely important,” the President said.
The Philippines has existing Visiting Forces Agreements with both the US and Australia.
Expanded Coast Guard funding sought
For her part, Senator Risa Hontiveros underscored the need to expand funding for the Philippine Coast Guard amid increasing tensions in the WPS.
“If we could further strengthen the men and women of our Coast Guard, arm them with advanced equipment – such as radar stations, automatic identification systems (AIS) hardware and others – we can more effectively hold China accountable for her hostile, aggressive, and illegal actions in the West Philippine Sea,” Hontiveros said.
Despite the PCG facing “a clear and present danger” brought about by China’s increasing hostilities in the region, the senator said funding for Coast Guard operations remained limited.
Since 2009, the agency has only been receiving “a measly” P10 million in intelligence funds annually, forcing the agency to rely solely on human intelligence (HUMINT) to get up-to-date information.