Amid Beijing’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, the Philippines has correctly adopted the strategy of forging military and security alliances with friendly countries.
Apart from the United States with which we have the Mutual Defense Treaty forged as far back as 1951 and still in effect at this time, we have lately begun to build an international united front to muster support from such countries as Japan and the members of the European Union.
The recent addition to the growing list of countries that have expressed support for our assertion of sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea on the basis of the favorable ruling of the Permanent Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague in 2016 is Canada.
The North American country recently joined its first joint patrol with the Philippines in the South China Sea as part of a multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA), along with Japan and the United States, to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight amid Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the contested waters.
The Royal Canadian Navy deployed a frigate to join the Philippine Navy’s patrol ship, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s destroyer, and the US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer on June 16-17.
The maritime activity took place as China again harassed a Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, a low-tide elevation that lies within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone, some 194 kilometers off Palawan province.
The activity “demonstrates our collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in the maritime domain,” according to the US Indo-Pacific Command.
The multilateral exercise involved a series of activities and maritime maneuvers to test and validate the interoperability of the armed forces’ doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
Cooperation such as this reflects the approach of the four countries to a secure and prosperous region where aircraft and ships of all nations may fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows.
The Philippines first started a maritime cooperative activity with the United States and Australia separately in November. An inaugural MMCA by the Philippines, the US, Australia and Japan took place in April.
Canada has consistently expressed support for the Philippines in the face of China’s coercive actions in the WPS.
Early this year, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada on defense cooperation that could later lead to a visiting forces agreement.
This is a positive development that reflects its unequivocal support for our unyielding stance on the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
