The Philippines and the United States have agreed to mount joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea before the end of the year, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Friday.
In April, Washington and Manila agreed to resume joint patrols in the South China Sea, which overlaps with the West Philippine Sea, and struck a deal to give US troops access to another four military facilities in the Philippines, on top of five existing Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.
Meanwhile, senators have revived a previous suggestion to make former President Rodrigo Duterte a special envoy to China, following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.
NSC Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya said that among the country’s key strategies in the West Philippine Sea is strengthening partnerships with other countries and allies while supporting a rules-based international order.
“Recently, [National Security Adviser Eduardo] Año met with the national security advisers of Japan and the US in a trilateral meeting. I think in the very near future we will have joint patrols, or joint sailing, the Philippines and the US. Let’s wait and see,” he added.
“That is why the President went to the US, met with the President of the US, President Joe Biden, and reinvigorated our mutual defensetreaty. We also have good relations with Australia, we have a visiting forces agreement with Australia,” Malaya said at a West Philippine Summit conference on Friday.
During his weeklong visit to China, Duterte reportedly told Xi that China should “look kindly on the Philippines” on the WPS.
China claims most of the strategic waters as part of its territory.
The Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, and Malaysia also have overlapping claims.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri shared this with the media on Thursday, quoting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who hosted Duterte at Malacanang on Wednesday night before meeting 22 senators for dinner shortly afterward.
Malaya said the joint patrol with the US would not necessarily aggravate the situation in the general South China Sea region—which China claims in its entirety under its so-called nine-dash line — if international law is strictly followed.
The purpose of the joint patrol is simply to ensure freedom of navigation by keeping sea lanes open, he added.
“It’s clear under international law what international seas are. Forus, we adhere with the UNCLOS. Whatever UNCLOS says where the international law allows us to sail, that’s where we will sail,” hesaid.
When asked about the prospect of having a joint military exercise with China, Malaya said there is no legal basis at the moment. The NSC has also yet to receive any proposal on this.
“Well, for us to have joint military exercises. we must have a Visiting Forces Agreement with China. That is the really big problem,” the official said.
On Duterte representing the country, Senator JV Ejercito said: “That would be a good suggestion, making him a super-envoy to China.”
He said it is important that “lines are open with regards to our maritime dispute with China.”
“Personally, I don’t like what China is doing, but (diplomatic) ties are important,” said Ejercito.
Keeping lines open between the two countries is included in the recently-approved Senate Resolution 178, which condemns China’s incursions on PH territory and harassment of Filipino fishermen, the Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine Navy.
It is “an open book” that Duterte is very close to China, Ejercito said.
Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, Duterte’s longtime assistant, said he agreed with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano that Duterte has a good relationship with China’s president.
“They are friends, they understand each other, and they can easily talk to each other,” Go added.
Cayetano, who was Foreign Affairs Secretary under Duterte, said there’s no doubt the former President “is one of the best representatives of the country when talking to the Chinese government because of his relationship with Xi.”
“If ever we know someone who can go to the highest levels of theChinese government that the Chinese government trusts and the Filipino trusts, it’s President Duterte. But then we have to come out with a strategy that is both comprehensive and that will work in the short and long term,” he said.
During the WPS summit, the NSC also noted the importance of defense and coastguard modernization, which would help increase the country’s deterrence capabilities.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu reiterated his agency’s commitment to patrolling the West Philippine Sea to assert the country’s sovereignty.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said 27 percent of the marine fisheries production for the Philippines comes from the
West Philippine Sea.
The BFAR had said Filipino fishermen could have caught more fish in the West Philippine Sea if no Chinese incursions occurred.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July 2016 that China’s basis for its claims has no legal backing. Beijing refuses to honor the decision.