Philippines’ Marcos says joint patrols with US underway in South China Sea

MANILA: Joint maritime and breeze patrols within the South China Sea between the Philippines and america army had been introduced on Tuesday (Nov 21), Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr mentioned, describing it as a “significant initiative”.

The Philippine chief’s announcement comes amid a speedy nourishing of ties this past between the 2 defence treaty allies, together with a call to just about double the selection of Philippine bases out there to america army.

“This significant initiative is a testament to our commitment to bolster the interoperability of our military forces in conducting maritime and air patrols,” Marcos mentioned on social media platform X.

The announcement comes a future later Marcos advised a discussion board in Hawaii the status within the South China Sea had turn into extra “dire than it was before”, announcing the Chinese language army had inched nearer to Philippine sea coast.

China claims lots of the South China Sea thru a “nine-dash line” that stretches so far as 1,500km (900 miles) south of its mainland, slicing into the unique financial zones (EEZ) of rival claimants corresponding to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.