What’s better than the Philippine Coast Guard and our Navy conducting patrols in the West Philippine Sea to assert the country’s sovereignty over our 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone?
Just last week, the United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines conducted a joint exercise in the waters off Manila involving the Australian and Japanese large-deck ships on deployment in the region.
The quadrilateral naval drills in the vital sea lane underscored our shared commitment to a rules-based international order.
The joint drills in the South China Sea has become urgent after Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia used water cannons against a Philippine Navy ship on a resupply mission to the derelict BRP Sierra Madre that stands guard at Ayungin Shoal as part of our commitment to assert our sovereignty over our EEZ.
The Australian ships and aircraft are in the Philippines as part of the Philippines-Australian joint amphibious drill Exercise Alon, which is supported by MV-22 Ospreys for US Marine Force Rotational – Darwin.
The exercise is also part of the Australian Defense Force’s Indo-Pacific Endeavor 2023 deployment, an annual engagement activity in the region which takes place from June to October.
What the mission to the shoal aimed at, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is to demonstrate “our resolve to stand up against threats and coercion and our commitment in upholding the rule of law.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. observed the drills in Zambales on Friday.
“We recommitted to planning bilateral joint patrols in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea and other areas of mutual interest,” Marles said in a statement issued that day.
Washington has vowed to defend the Philippines, its longtime treaty ally, if our vessels and forces come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
Would the Mutual Defense Treaty signed by our two countries in 1951 deter aggression in this part of the Pacific Ocean more than 70 years later?
We really don’t know.
But if the four-nation military exercises are any yardstick, then we can at least rely on not only one, but two other countries to help us when we need it the most.