China has issued a warning regarding the U.S. deployment of intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines, describing it as a serious threat to regional security. The recently deployed Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Missile System, also known as the Typhon System, has been positioned in Northern Luzon.
On August 16, Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said in a press conference that China’s Foreign Secretary Wang Yi recently expressed “very dramatic” concern over the U.S. deploying a midrange missile system in the Philippines. He told China not to be worried as the weapon system was in the country temporarily.
Wang said the U.S. weapon system could be destabilizing to the region, which Manalo disagreed with. In April, the U.S. Army’s Theater for the Indo-Pacific region announced the deployment of the MRC missile system to Northern Luzon as part of the three-week Balikatan Military Exercises.
In an exclusive interview with Maritime Fairtrade, Philippine National Security Council (NSC)’s assistant director general, Jonathan Malaya, touched on the diplomatic row in the West Philippine Sea, and expanded on protecting the sovereignty of the Philippines amidst the escalating diplomatic row with China. The West Philippine Sea is the official designation by the government to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The Philippines exercises sovereignty within its territorial waters, 12 nautical miles from the territorial sea. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is 200 nautical miles where the country does not exercise sovereignty but exercises sovereignty rights, which is their authority to utilize the resources from oil, and natural gas to marine life, and is technically international waters.
“So, if we are talking about the EEZ, we face certain challenges because the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has their law, has their interpretation of law practice even if they were defeated in the arbitral ruling. They continue also to push for their rights,” said Malaya. “So, challenging that is on how to be able to assert our rights in our EEZ despite the griefing invasion or the fear of trying to respect international law and respect the lives of the Filipinos in our specific zones.”
China insists on sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea. In 2016, China rejected an international arbitration ruling which stated it has no legal basis for the expansive claims. China refuses to accept this 2016 UNCLOS ruling, of which it is a State Party to UNCLOS, and dismissed the ruling as “nothing more than a piece of waste paper”.
Chinese military bases are built on artificial islands within the EEZ, around 3,000 hectares of reclaimed land. Navy spokesman Commodore Roy Trinidad said in a recent press briefing that China has built bases complete with airstrips, seaports, fuel depots, and resting army facilities on the Gaven Reef, Zhubi Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef (outside the EEZ); and on the Mischief Reef and the Johnson South Reef (within the EEZ).
“We are glad that the Filipino public is very resilient in all of this because we saw the data of the SWS Pulse Asia survey showing that 73 percent of the public support asserting our rights in the West Philippine Sea. In fact, many of them want to take military action. So, despite the fact that there is a noisy minority, the vast majority support the Philippine Government,” shared Malaya.
Revisiting the bilateral consultation mechanism
As the West Philippine Sea row continues to escalate, Manila plans to file a diplomatic protest against the Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) for dropping flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force (PAF) plane patrolling over Bajo de Masinloc on August 8. A PAF NC-212i propeller-driven light transport airplane was conducting a routine maritime patrol over Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag and Scarborough Shoal) when two PLAAF aircrafts executed a dangerous maneuver around 9 am local time and dropped flares in the path of the NC-212i.
The National Maritime Council will meet to discuss the latest incident in mid-August. This incident happened after the Philippines and China convened the 9th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) in Manila in July to lower the tensions.
“This is a serious escalation on the part of the PRC. We, from the NSC and the National Task Force – West Philippine Sea, call upon China to stop these provocative actions against a routine mission by the PAF because it undermines regional stability at the same time it lowers the reputation of the PRC in the international community,” said Malaya in a TV press briefing.
In June, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) used bladed weapons that punctured boats, seized guns, and rammed Philippine vessels, resulting in a Filipino sailor losing his thumb. This has put China further in a bad light in the international community.
Officials from both countries met for negotiation talks at the BCM, marking the first time since their previous meeting in Shanghai in January. The long negotiation talks had China insisting on many things such as inspections and for the Philippines to alert them at every step, which the country did not agree to do.
“China also wants to de-escalate despite their escalation, they realized that what they are doing is counterproductive. They said let us talk, deescalate, and reduce tensions,” shared Malaya before the recent incident. “It came to a point where the talk almost came to a halt but I think both sides agreed that the only way forward is to respect each other’s position and China realized we were brave and will not bow to them so they agreed.”
Resumption of the rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission
The civilian vessel MV Lapu-Lapu was escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel BRP Cape Engaño, in a Rotation and Resupply (RoRe) mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal on July 27.
“We saw during the last rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission in July that China followed through on their commitments. There was no harassment whatsoever or obstruction to our resupply mission,” said Malaya.
According to a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the RoRe mission to the Ayungin Shoal was monitored by the CCG.
“The entire process was monitored by (the) CCG. China had been notified of the resupply before it was carried out. After confirming on-site that the Philippine vessel carried only humanitarian living necessities, the Chinese side let the vessel through,” said the spokesperson in a press conference.
“China’s position on the Ren’ai Jiao (Ayungin Shoal) issue has not changed. China has sovereignty over Ren’ai Jiao, the rest of Nansha Qundao, and their adjacent waters. China will continue to properly deal with relevant territorial issues and disputes over maritime rights with the Philippines through dialogue and consultation.”
During that time, Malaya said the Philippines is cautiously optimistic the negotiation talk will last with regards to the Ayungin Shoal. In 1999, the Philippines grounded the BRP Sierra Madre, a navy vessel where a handful of troops live to bolster its sea claim. The arrangement only covers resupply missions to the shoal and not the other features in the disputed territory.
“Now China realized that if they want to see a change in the Philippine behavior if they think that they can intimidate the Philippines or scare us into doing what they want, it is not going to work. In fact, we became braver because a lot of other countries have come to our defense and are issuing statements in support of us and actually strengthening their security and defense alliance with the Philippines,” he added.
Strengthening external military defense
The Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC) allows the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to defend the country’s sea lanes of communication and all of the maritime territories. The shift towards external defense aims to protect and secure the Benham Rise (Philippine Rise), as well as the entire country. This paves the way for the Philippines to further develop the capability to protect its entire territory including the EEZ.
“The CADC intends to create the interlocking series of radars across the country, to cover the 360 degrees but we are focusing first on the western side. Hopefully, we can do more on the eastern side and lastly, the southern side of the country,” said Malaya.
In August, the Philippine Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted drills in the West Philippine Sea. BRP Jose Rizal and Japan’s JS Sazanami were used during their first bilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, which included communications exercises, tactical maneuvering, and photographic exercises.
“We are the first recipient of the official security assistance. That means additional postal radars and also, Japan is committed to the modernization of the PCG. They are providing us with five more 97-meter patrol boats or ships for the Coast Guard,” shared Malaya.
The five additional patrol ships from Japan are through a P23.85 billion (US$417.73 million) deal signed in May, which was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya. The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the vessels will help improve the PCG’s capabilities for maritime operations and address transnational crimes.
The Philippines and Japan also signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) in July which eases access for troops between the two countries for military operations training. The RAA also allows the Philippines to conduct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
“At the same time, the training (is important) because the RAA means they can come to us and we can go to them. It is reciprocal, that means Philippine troops can go to Japan for training. So, it is a win-win for both sides,” added Malaya.
Meanwhile, the U.S has allotted US$500 million in assistance to support the ongoing modernization program of the AFP and the PCG, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III announced at the 2 + 2 Ministerial Meeting with Manalo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., held in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
“A portion of which will go to the development of facilities in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, for joint use, at military bases of the Philippines, which the U.S. is allow to use. So, the US$125 million will develop some of the sites, while the rest will be for procurement of military equipment,” shared Malaya.
Through the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, the country has procured new assets related to the AFP’s shift to territorial defense operations, to orient Philippine forces toward more conventional and higher-end threats.
The new assets will include U.S. Marine Corps MQ-9A Reaper drones, Israeli long-range patrol aircraft, Indian BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, T129 combat helicopters from Turkish Aerospace Industries, and South Korea’s two Jose Rizal-class frigates, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (BRP-151), and the Pohang-class corvette BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39).
“We diversify our use of our defense partners so that we can get the best value for our money. Yes, we need more assets. Of course, we appreciate and understand that the U.S. is the largest military in the world, the more sophisticated military and since we are a middle power, the only way we retain our middle power status, is if we continue the modernization,” added Malaya.
Photo credit: Philippine National Security Council. Jonathan Malaya, Philippine National Security Council’s assistant director general.
