MANILA – Philippine and Australian defense chiefs met for high-level talks Friday to boost cooperation amid increased intimidation tactics by China in the Southeast Asian nation’s internationally recognized waters.
The meeting between Filipino defense chief Gilberto Teodoro and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles took place as both countries continue to grapple with Beijing’s rising aggressiveness in staking its expansive South China Sea claims.
On Thursday, the Philippine military reported having monitored the presence of China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels conducting maneuvers and drills involving water cannons at sea near Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila claims and refers to as Ayungin Shoal.
A number of rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) and fast boats were also seen inside the shoal, including those that were mounted with heavy crew-served weapons. At least 18 coast guard vessels, fast crafts and nine Chinese maritime militia vessels were seen. Two aircraft, including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), were also spotted in the skies, the Philippine military said.
Marles said that current strong bilateral relations are the “byproducts of strong working arrangements” between the two nations, which are currently working on a “defense cooperation agreement” expected to be signed next year.
“Australia and the Philippines are both countries which have shared values and a commitment to the rules-based order, an order which is under pressure in our region,” Marles told a joint news conference.
He noted a “growing volume of activity” between both nations, underpinned by a “great degree of trust that now has significant strategic dimensions to it.” Like America, he said Australia was pursuing different infrastructure projects across the Philippines.
Teodoro condemned what he said was China’s “gross violations of international law.” He also scolded China for peddling false narratives and said “their disinformation is as disgusting as their activities.”
While the alliance with Australia and Washington has continued to be strong, “we cannot control the unilateral activities of China,” Teodoro said.
“Hence, the need for deterring China and giving the strong message that their activities will not be tolerated by the international community and not only (by) us, because these are gross violations of international law,” he stressed.
“The activities of China in any area, whether in the Sierra Madre or any area under their nebulous claims, are a matter not only of concern but of condemnation,” said Teodoro, adding that such actions are “are gross violations of international law.”
Both governments, the ministers said, adhere to the rules-based order as defined in international law. While China, on the surface, has professed to want to settle the disputes via dialogue, “there is a deficit of trust that they need to overcome,” the Philippine minister said.
The Philippines maintains a military outpost in Ayungin shoal in the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship it purposely ran aground there in 1999 to mark its territorial claim. The shoal is within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, and it runs regular rotation-and-resupply missions to the ship manned by Filipino marines.
The meeting took place as both countries are undertaking Exercise Alon, involving 3,600 combined personnel, the largest bilateral exercises between the allies designed to put China on notice, experts say.
Separately, Manila regularly conducts joint exercises with the United States, its number one defense ally that has repeatedly said it was prepared to come to the Philippines’ aid against China if it invoked a decades-old mutual defense treaty.
Last year, a Filipino sailor was injured when the CCG violently intercepted a Filipino boat near the Sierra Madre. Several firearms owned by the Filipinos were also confiscated by the Chinese.
That incident marked an escalation of Chinese harassment in the region, although Filipino authorities and diplomats have taken steps to de-escalate the tension and prevent a bigger conflict, including a possible shooting war.
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said the Chinese buildup around Ayungin was meant as a show of force.
“They are trying to intimidate us. They are trying to coerce us for showing their capability,” Trinidad said. “Are we intimidated? We have never been intimidated.”
The Chinese presence near Ayungin is “illegal”, Trinidad said, stressing that Beijing has made similar actions in Philippine-held features elsewhere in the region. “Their actions are coercive and aggressive,” he said.
Jason Gutierrez was head of Philippine news at BenarNews, an online news service affiliated with Radio Free Asia (RFA), a Washington-based news organization that covered many under-reported countries in the region. A veteran foreign correspondent, he has also worked with The New York Times and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
