MANILA — The Philippines and the United States yesterday launched their first-ever joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea amid a strengthening of ties between the two nations in the face of China’s growing belligerence in asserting its maritime claims.
President Marcos made the announcement on his official X account yesterday, a few days after visiting the US Indo-Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii as part of his six-day working visit to the US last week, accompanied by the country’s top military brass.
“Today (Tuesday) marks the beginning of joint maritime and air patrols – a collaborative effort between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States Indo-Pacific Command in the West Philippine Sea,” the President said.
Marcos said the joint activity, which will run until Nov. 23, aims to enhance the interoperability of both military forces in the conduct of maritime and air patrols.
“This significant initiative is a testament to our commitment to bolster the interoperability of our military forces in conducting maritime and air patrols,” he said.
“Through collaborative efforts, we aim to enhance regional security and foster a seamless partnership with the United States in safeguarding our shared interests,” the commander-in-chief said.
Authorities did not say how often the joint patrols would be held.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the joint patrols “will commence in the vicinity of Batanes and will end in the West Philippine Sea.”
“It will involve three navy vessels, two FA-50PH and one A-29B Super Tucano from the side of the AFP while the US will send in one Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and one P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft,” Trinidad said. Northern Luzon Command’s Eugene Cabusao said the joint patrols would begin off Mavulis Island in Batanes, which is about 100 kms off Taiwan.
The announcement came a day after Marcos told a forum in Hawaii that the situation in the South China Sea had become more “dire than it was before,” with the Chinese military inching closer to the Philippine coastline.
The patrols are likely to irk China, which has warned the Philippines against activities with the US that it says could stoke regional tensions. China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the exercise.
China claims most of the South China Sea through a “nine-dash line” that stretches as far as 1,500 kms (900 miles) south of its mainland, cutting into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the Philippines and other rival claimants such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Marcos this year rekindled ties with Washington after its testy relationship with predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who had pivoted closer to China, despite Beijing developing military installations on manmade islands within the Philippines’ EEZ.
Relations with China have soured under Marcos, with repeated standoffs between Chinese and Filipino vessels in waters claimed by both countries, prompting heated rhetoric between them and concerns of an escalation.
Jay Batongbacal, director of the Manila-based Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the joint patrol with the US showed Manila was making a stand on the maritime row.
“It shows that the Philippines is really firming up its posture on West Philippine Sea issues,” he said.
“I guess it shows the determination of the current administration of pursuing its more robust policy with respect to the West Philippine Sea.”
Marcos met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, California, where he emphasized that Filipino fishermen should have access to fishing grounds in the South China Sea.
No war plans
In Davao City, former president Rodrigo Duterte said China has no intention of going to war with the Philippines over its maritime claims – at least judging from its use of only civilian vessels in its operations in Philippine waters.
“China only sends coast guards ships, and ours are also coast guard vessels, so there’s no war. If it’s war that China intends to make, then trouble would have erupted a long time ago,” Duterte, widely acknowledged as a staunch backer of China, said in Filipino in his “Gikas sa Masa Para sa Masa” TV show aired Monday night on SMNI news channel.
If China were determined to go to war, Duterte said it would have sent air force planes and warships to confront Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
“But there is no military component for China. It is because coast guard is only like the Customs that run after illegal goods or contraband, other than that, wala na (nothing),” he said.
He again voiced a warning that the Philippines has no chance of winning a war with China.
“We are not equipped to go to war against China. We do not have the capability. Di natin kaya ang pulbura nila (We’re no match against its firepower),” Duterte said. For one, he said, China has submarines that can explore Philippine waters undetected and unmolested.
The former president also noted Chinese President Xi’s being given the red carpet treatment by US President Jose Biden during the recent APEC Summit in San Francisco. He said the US gesture is pregnant with meanings.
“Kung magkagulo na dito (If trouble erupts here) do you think America will come to us?” Duterte said. “What is on the other side of the table is war and we cannot afford it.”
