Military must evolve fast – Gibo

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) must evolve fast and “try to focus on actual soldiering” because of threats to a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said on Friday.

The defense chief did not specify the threats, but his comments were made against the backdrop of China’s growing belligerence in asserting its illegal claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“We will be increasing the pressure continuously for them to evolve, as soon as possible, into a multi-threat, multi-theater operating armed force,” he said at the end of the annual Balikatan war games.

“No amount of malign, or for lack of a better term, perverse attempts to subvert our goal for a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order will stop our shared advance towards upholding these internationally accepted norms, come what may,” Teodoro said, using the US preferred term for the Asia-Pacific the region.

The 39th Balikatan drills, involving around 11,000 US, 5,000 Filipino and 100 Australian troops, began on April 22 and were concentrated in the northern and western parts of the Philippines, near the potential flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The area has seen increased confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels, particularly around Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, as well as stepped-up Chinese air and naval activity around nearby self-ruled Taiwan.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague that Beijing’s assertion has no legal basis.

China deploys hundreds of coast guard, navy and other vessels to patrol waters way beyond its territorial seas.

Last month China’s coast guard on separate occasions blasted with powerful water cannons Philippine vessels delivering food and provisions to troops on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal and to fishermen in Panatag Shoal.

The attacks caused damage and injuries and sparked condemnation from the international community.

On Friday, Lieutenant General Michael Cederholm, commander of the US First Marine Expeditionary Force, said the Balikatan exercises “directly built warfighting readiness” for the allies.

“It should also give pause to any adversary who does not believe in a free and open Pacific, who does not believe in transparency, who does not seek peaceful resolution but would seek to use force to impose their will on other sovereign nations,” he said.

Also on Friday, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año called for the expulsion of Chinese diplomats he accused of “malign influence and interference,” particularly for insisting that they had reached an informal agreement with AFP’s Western Command on managing the Ayungin Shoal issue.

Teodoro and Año denied the Chinese embassy’s claim, with the national security chief lambasting the diplomats for their “repeated acts of engaging in and dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation.”

In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing “solemnly requires that the Philippines effectively ensures that Chinese diplomats can perform their duties normally, stops infringement and provocation.”

Bearing fruit

In a post on X, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said efforts to expose China’s false narratives on the West Philippine Sea appeared to be bearing fruit.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s increasing efforts to carry out information operations and undermine our transparency strategy in the West Philippine Sea is a clear indication that our countermeasures against their lies, misinformation and fake news are effective,” Tarriela wrote on X.

He also castigated “paid trolls and pro-China influencers” and challenged them “to look straight in the eyes of their children and grandchildren (and tell them) that their fight is not for China’s interest.”

At a forum in San Juan, former defense chief Norberto Gonzales said the government should prepare the country’s 20 million youth “for war” as China has intensified its encroachments in Philippine waters.

“We should take advantage of our assets that others don’t have, and that is our young people. If I am not mistaken, in terms of number, we have 20 million young Filipinos that we can train for war,” Gonzales said at the Tapatan Forum at Club Filipino.

“We should show that we can act as one people and the underlying fundamental reason why we can act as one people is because all of us have the same love for the same country,” he said, adding that China’s expansionist bid has become clearer.

“He wants to become a world power. He is envious of the United States and no less than our former ambassador has said that one way to really mobilize the Chinese people behind the government is that there is an external threat to China. The Chinese party has wisely chosen the Philippines to be an enemy as it can easily defeat us,” Gonzales said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He noted that the Chinese allegedly have been bribing some Filipinos to discredit the current administration.

“China does not see an element of love for the country. China considers us as cheap that can be bribed. That is the image of the Philippines. That has to change,” he added.

At the same forum, former national security adviser Clarita Carlos urged the Marcos administration to push through with its plan to renegotiate the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with the US to make it more responsive to the present situation.

“During a Cabinet meeting, he (Marcos) asked me to put together the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense and I was the team leader but I already left (the Cabinet) and we only had four meetings,” she said. She did not specify which provision in the MDT should be renegotiated.

Carlos also said the PCG should be returned to the AFP. “Remember that the Philippine Coast Guard used to be folded within the AFP. I raised this issue because these are very important things. Right now, structurally, there should be unity of command. The secretary of the Department of Transportation should not meddle with the PCG, it should be the AFP,” she added

Meanwhile, the US on Thursday turned over to the PCG a new facility for repair and maintenance of its maritime assets.

The US, represented by its embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Ewing, turned over to Vice Admiral Allan Victor dela Vega, PCG’s deputy commandant for administration, the newly constructed “Maintenance and Repair Group Workshop Facility” at the headquarters of the PCG’s Maritime Safety Services Command in Sangley Point, Cavite City.

The new facility would “enhance the units’ capabilities in terms of ships and small boat repair and maintenance in order to deliver the best services of PCG floating assets to the country,” according to the PCG. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab