U.S. backs Philippines amid growing Chinese assertiveness

The United States and the Philippines will venture outside Manila’s territorial waters for the first time when they begin annual joint combat exercises in April, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Col. Michael Logico said parts of the Balikatan 2024 exercise will be conducted about 22 kilometers (more than 12 nautical miles) off the west coast of Palawan, an island in the archipelago nation facing South Korea. A volatile region in the China Sea.

Chinese ships this month intercepted Philippine ships near Second Thomas Shoal, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Palawan and claimed by both sides.

“The message we want to send is that we are serious about defending our territory and we have allies,” Logico told a news conference, according to Philippine media.

Beijing claims sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, putting it on a collision course with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, all of which share borders. The International Court of Justice in The Hague rejected China’s claims.

Blinken visits

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Philippines this week to strengthen ties and underscore Washington’s commitment to Manila in the face of an increasingly assertive China.

Blinken noted on Tuesday that China has “repeatedly violated international law and the Philippines’ rights: water cannons, blockade drills, close-range tracking, [and] Other hazardous operations. “

China has been increasing its military presence in the South China Sea through island construction, including the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which it seized from the Philippines in 2012.

The government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has defiantly sought sovereignty over the disputed area by providing troops and escorting fishing boats. He told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday that he was not trying to provoke conflict but that “as the threat intensifies, we must do more to defend our territory.”

The Philippines announced last week that it would build a new port in the U.S.-funded northern Batanes Islands, 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) from Taiwan.

While the port is expected to be used for civilian purposes, analysts say it could also be used for military purposes and play an important role in national defense – and not just for the Philippines.

Carl Thayer, professor emeritus of political science at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales in Australia, emailed VOA: “If a conflict breaks out over Taiwan, U.S. and Philippine troops stationed in the northern Philippines will be able to monitor and attack Chinese forces. break out.”

Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must one day be reunited with mainland China, by force if necessary, while the United States has vowed to defend Taiwan’s autonomy.

But the U.S. mainland is about 11,000 kilometers (6,000 nautical miles) from the Taiwan Strait, while mainland China is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Taiwan Strait.

Have a “positive impact” on Taiwan

While the United States has military bases in Hawaii that are relatively close to Taiwan, about 8,150 kilometers (4,400 nautical miles); Guam, about 2,780 kilometers (1,500 nautical miles); and Okinawa, about 740 kilometers (400 nautical miles) away, analysts say its military assets are far away The closer Taiwan is, the faster it can respond and resupply in the event of a Chinese attack.

“While the Philippines may not change the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Washington and Tokyo’s greater interest in the Philippines will have a positive impact on Taiwan’s security,” said Thomas Shattuck, senior program manager at the University of Pennsylvania, Perry. World House, in an email to VOA.

“This will increase U.S. assets in southern Taiwan. It will make it more difficult for China to dominate the ‘southern theater’ of a possible conflict over Taiwan,” Shattuck said. But again, there is more work to be done on this front. Do. “

Marcos said last year that the U.S. military would be allowed to use four new military bases in the Philippines for training, building infrastructure and prepositioning supplies, in addition to the five already authorized, although such access would not be permanent.

While many countries in the Indo-Pacific region receive U.S. military aid, the Philippines receives the most. From 2015 to 2022, Manila received more than $1.14 billion worth of aircraft, armored vehicles, small arms, equipment and training, of which $475 million was aid.

Blinken’s trip to the Philippines marks the second visit to the country this month by a senior U.S. Cabinet official. On March 11, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced more than $1 billion in new investments by U.S. companies in the archipelago nation.

Despite China’s more assertive actions in the South China Sea, Gregory Pollin of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies believes Beijing has run out of steam. Paulin, senior fellow and director of the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, pointed out that since 2022, Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines have no longer made concessions to China.

At the same time, he wrote Eurasia ReviewIndonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have resumed infrastructure and oil and gas field development in disputed areas, despite China’s objections.

China’s provocations are expected to be one of the main topics at a historic summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.