The Philippines and the United States have established a new joint task force aimed at deterring China’s continued aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. formally announced the creation of “Task Force Philippines” on Friday.
The announcement came as Teodoro and Hegseth met for the fourth time on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Malaysia.
“We don’t seek confrontation, but of course, we’re ready to protect our interests, individually and mutually,” Hegseth said, and that’s why we’re publicly announcing the ‘Task Force Philippines’ here with you today.”
Hegseth, chief of the rebranded US Department of War, said the frequency of meetings with Teodoro shows that the Philippines is a “critically important partnership for [the US].”
Neither the US Department of War nor the Philippines’ Department of National Defense had released information on the new task force as of writing.
It’s unclear, for instance, if and how the newly-announced task force relates to the existing Task Force Ayungin based in the Western Command in Palawan.
The task force is named after Ayungin Shoal, a feature in the West Philippine Sea where BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era warship of the Philippine Navy, has been deliberately run aground to stake the Philippines claims against China in the area and to serve as a military outpost.
“Freedom of navigation and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty are not only important for us but for the whole world given the strategic area that the Philippines occupies in the whole world — economic supply chains and the security environment,” said Teodoro.
Ties between the two treaty-allies — especially when it comes to defense — have grown closer since President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. took office.
Under Marcos, the Philippines has been more assertive in its entitlements and claims in the West Philippine Sea, a body of water within the South China Sea that includes Manila’s exclusive economic zone and claimed features.
