Defense chief: Manila cannot defend claims in sea dispute yet

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Monday that the Philippines does not have the capability yet to defend its territory in the disputed South China Sea amid China’s continuing aggressiveness in the disputed area, part of which Manila claims and calls the West Philippine Sea.

Lorenzana said in an exclusive interview on ANC that it may take some time for the Philippines to acquire the ships, weapons and equipment needed to defend claimed areas in the South China Sea, a vast body of water believed to hold vast reserves of natural resources.

“At present, we don’t have capabilities to even just demonstrate to others that we are capable, because we are not capable,” Lorenzana said.

The Defense secretary said that one of the improvements Manila is looking at is upgrading the runway on Pag-asa Island, which is part of Palawan province.

“Our sole airstrip in Pag-asa is still very short, and it’s still unpaved. We’re trying to pave that so that we can bring in our aircraft anytime,” he said, adding that it takes five days of sunny weather for the runway to be hard enough for aircraft to land on.

 

Manila’s scramble to put up a minimum defense capability in the South China Sea comes as uncertainty continues to surround US commitment to defend the Philippines in case China attacks any of its territory or military in disputed waters.

When asked if the US would defend Filipino-controlled features and ships under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said that Washington “maintains confidentiality at times in these efforts.”

During his visit to the Philippines in 2014, then US President Barack Obama also refused to give a categorical answer on whether the treaty could be used in the event of an armed conflict in the South China Sea.

This evasive response is in contrast to the strong commitment the US gave to Japan should an armed conflict erupt between Tokyo and Beijing, which are also locked in a dispute over islands both countries claim.

 

The Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte has tried to forge closer ties to China in an effort to court Chinese money and investments.

This has led to a non-confrontational stance amid China landing long-range bombers in the Paracels and its installation of missile systems on artificial islands in the South China Sea.

In 2016, a United Nations-backed tribunal invalidated much of China’s expansive claims in the region, a decision that Duterte has said he will bring up with China before his term of office ends.