South China Sea: after near collision with Chinese vessel, Philippines says joint patrols with US may be months away

The Philippine ambassador to the US said joint patrols between the two nations in the disputed South China Sea may begin later this year
Talks of the drills come after Beijing accused Manila of staging a near-collision between 2 coastguard vessels in the South China Sea for publicity last month

The Philippines

Reuters

Published: 9:35pm, 8 May 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

Joint patrols between the Philippines and the United States in the South China Sea may begin later this year, a top diplomat said on Monday, just days after Washington clarified its commitment to defend Manila from an attack at sea.

Discussions were continuing on the joint maritime patrols, which were announced in February, said Philippine ambassador to the United States, Jose Manuel Romualdez.

“An estimate would be no later than the third quarter of this year. We should have that in place,” he told CNN Philippines.

Talks of the maritime drills come after China accused the Philippines of staging a near-collision between two coastguard vessels in the South China Sea for publicity last month.

US, Philippines set forth ground rules to counter China in region

The near-miss happened after Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited Manila – as two Philippine ships engaged in a weeklong patrol of Philippine-held territory approached the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as Renai Reef.

There has been a string of incidents near the Philippine-held reef, which is also claimed by mainland China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than US$3 trillion of world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

US President Joe Biden and the President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (L) meet in the Oval Office. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in February he and his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez, have agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea, which former President Rodrigo Duterte, who sought warmer ties with China, had suspended after he took office in 2016.

But Philippine Defence Secretary Galvez told reporters on Monday there were no formal discussions on the joint patrols with the United States and Australia.

Ties between the Philippines and the United States are seeing a reinvigoration under Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, who last week met President Joe Biden on a four-day visit to Washington.

Conversations on combined maritime activities with the Philippines are continuing, and our military planners are working hard on specific issues like logistics

Kanishka Gangopadhyay, US embassy spokesperson

During the visit, the Pentagon issued guidelines that laid out in clear terms the extent of US defence treaty commitments to the Philippines that refer specifically to attacks in the South China Sea, including on its coastguard.

When asked about the timing of the joint patrols, a spokesperson at US Embassy in Manila, Kanishka Gangopadhyay, said on Monday: “Our conversations on combined maritime activities with the Philippines are continuing, and our military planners are working hard on specific issues like logistics”.

02:30

US, Philippine troops fire air-defence missiles as part of annual joint exercises

Last month, the US and the Philippines held their largest joint drill in decades soon after Beijing concluded its own war games around Taiwan.

An estimated 17,000 military personnel took part in the exercise named Balikatan, meaning “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog – more than double the number of personnel who took part in a drill last year, the US embassy in the Philippines said.