Philippines not excluded from South China Sea trilateral drills

MANILA, Philippines — There was no “exclusionary purpose” in the Philippines’ not getting invited to the US, Japan and Australia naval exercise in the South China Sea, Washington clarified yesterday.

“We certainly do exercises with the Philippines. I don’t think that there was an exclusionary purpose here. It’s just a trilateral exercise that the United States is participating in,” Washington Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a press briefing.

“This is just one instance of this being a trilateral exercise with just these three countries. We conduct exercises all around the world that include other countries as well,” she added.

Singh said the recent Manila visit of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his regular engagement with officials should prove that the Philippines is an “important partner in the region.”

Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) clarified that it received no invitation to join the trilateral naval exercises.

Just four months after the last Balikatan Exercises, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is already preparing for next year’s iteration of the annual military drills held jointly in the country with US forces and regional allies.

The Philippine Army joined the initial planning conference on “Combined Exercise Balikatan 39-2024” at Camp Aguinaldo’s Education, Training and Doctrine Command on Monday.

Next year’s joint exercises, to be held sometime in April, is again expected to be one of the biggest in terms of the number of participating troops and observer countries like Australia and Japan, said Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad.

The previous Balikatan involved some 17,600 soldiers from the Philippines, the US and Australia.

US Ambassador Marykay Carlson described the 2023 Balikatan as “a testament to the strength of the US-Philippine alliance.”

The April 2023 Balikatan saw joint US and Philippine forces using modern weapons to sink a ship 12 nautical miles off the coast of San Antonio, Zambales.

President Marcos was given a front row seat in the demonstration of the capabilities of the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other artillery systems used to destroy a mock target at sea.

In the Ilocos region, the AFP’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) – in partnership with the US Pacific Fleet, local government units and agencies and non-government organizations – engaged local communities in Humanitarian Civic Action (HCA) activities yesterday aimed at strengthening international cooperation in disaster response.

The HCA event, dubbed “Pacific Partnership,” is on its 18th iteration yesterday. Concluding activities will be on Aug. 31 in San Fernando City, La Union.

The HCA activities include a wide range of collaborative efforts and initiatives in community engagement, capacity building and disaster preparedness.

Nolcom chief Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca said the joint endeavor is a testament to the commitment and enduring partnership between the participating agencies in creating a safer and more resilient community.

“The Nolcom, AFP will work in close coordination with our US counterpart and the local government unit of San Fernando, La Union, to ensure the smooth execution of the largest annual humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise,” he added.

Joint patrols

Meanwhile, a senior administration lawmaker has expressed hope that the joint US, Japan, Australia naval drills in the South China Sea as well as the improved ties between Tokyo and Seoul would kick start joint maritime patrols with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

“I have high hopes that the shared naval drills by the US, Japan and Australia in the South China Sea, along with the US’s stronger military cooperation with Japan and South Korea, will be the prelude to the Philippines’ joint maritime patrols with these formidable allies,” Rep. LRay Villafuerte said.

The Camarines Sur congressman underscored the importance of such exercises, considering Beijing’s “increasingly incursive actions.”

He said the West Philippine Sea has been “the center of nonstop, increasingly hostile behavior by China in violation of international laws.”

Villafuerte also welcomed the Department of Foreign Affairs’ openness to expanding the planned joint patrols to include other Southeast Asian allies.

“Our most feasible option for the time being to safeguard our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and continental shelf is to conduct, sooner than later, joint maritime patrols in the WPS with the US and other close allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia that similarly want to uphold the rules-based international order in pursuit of regional peace and stability,” he said.

“The best approach for Manila at this point to better protect our seas is to double down on plans for joint patrols with the US and other close country-allies in our EEZ where, according to the AFP Western Command, over 400 foreign vessels have been spotted, most of them from China,” he said.

AFP WesCom chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos revealed last week that “more than 400” foreign vessels – mostly Chinese – are operating within the country’s EEZ.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo was quoted as saying earlier that “if there are proposals (for joint patrols) from other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, we would be very open to consider them. In principle, we believe joint coast guard patrols will be useful.” — Artemio Dumlao, Delon Porcalla