Damage to Philippine vessels and injuries to their crew in the South China Sea constitute “irresponsible behavior” in disregard of international law, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday, weighing in on the latest flare-up involving China.
This handout photo taken on March 23, 2024 and released by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on March 25, 2024 shows an aerial view of BRP Datu Pagbuaya as it sails from the Philippine-held Thitu Island sheltered port, in the Spratly Islands, in the disputed South China Sea.MANILA, Philippines —
“Our commitment to the treaty is ironclad and we stand with the Philippines,” he said after a meeting with defense counterparts of the Philippines, Australia and Japan. “We need to assert our rights, but in a manner that safeguards the safety of each and every member of the Philippines’ armed force,” Teodoro added.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has said it aims to build what it calls a “latticework” of alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing says the strengthening of US alliances in Asia is aimed at containing China and threatens regional stability.Defense chiefs from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered on Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China’s operations in the South China Sea.
Austin told reporters at a news conference after their discussion that the drills strengthened the ability of the nations to work together, build bonds among their forces and underscore their shared commitment to international law in the waterway.Earlier in the day, Austin had separate bilateral meetings with Australia and Japan followed by a trilateral meeting with Australia and Japan.
The DND said the defense chiefs of the Philippines, Australia, Japan and the US called upon China “to adhere to the final and legally binding 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award and pledged to support states exercising their rights and freedoms in the South China Sea.” According to him, the Philippine Navy has its initial wish list but it will need more considering the AFP’s shift to external defense and how it is moving to extend its operational area to cover the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone in the WPS.
One of the presentations made during the workshop featured the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept that the AFP is now pursuing and implementing to protect the Philippine archipelago. For his part, Sen. Francis Tolentino yesterday warned that calling on the PCG to use its water cannon against China’s incursions in the WPS “might escalate or elevate into something greater than a water cannon.”
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