DND: Joint maritime activity a ‘show of unity” to China

The joint maritime activity between the Philippines, Australia, Japan and the United States in the West Philippine Sea is a “show of unity” among the four countries, rather than a show of force against China, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Sunday.

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) that will be conducted by military units of the four countries is something that is also undertaken by nations all over the world. 

“We’re just practicing what is allowed under international law. As I said, it’s a show of unity. If they (China) consider it as a show of force, that is up to them,” Andolong told reporters.

“What we’re doing is something that’s practiced by all civilized nations in the world… and what is important is that we are doing this in the name of our national interest in the Philippines. As I mentioned, what we’re getting out of this is the enhancement of our capability and our interoperability with our partners,” he added.

The Defense Department earlier said that the MCA, which was set on Sunday, April 7, should not be a reason to increase tensions with China as it would be held within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), that follows international law.

The MCA seeks to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, and respect for maritime rights under international law, reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” according to the defense chiefs of the 4 countries.

The combined defense forces involved in the joint maritime activity would also demonstrate the four countries’ “collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Despite these assurances, Andolong said the DND still expects China to “malign” the exercise.

“We already expect that they will malign through propaganda what we are doing in this MCA,” he said.

As the Philippines, Australia, Japan, and US held the joint exercise, China also conducted its own military “combat patrols” in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday.

Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command said it was organizing “joint naval and air combat patrols in the South China Sea,” based on an Agence France-Presse report.

The conduct of the MCA comes in the wake of harassment and water cannon attacks by the China Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia against Philippine vessels on resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal within the Philippines’ EEZ.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Saturday also reported that they and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard while conducting food security operations at the Rozul Reef on Thursday.

Asked if there will be other MCAs in the future, Andolong said that it is “always possible.”

“Depende ‘yan sa mapag uusapan ulit ano kasi ‘yung MCA is an agreement between all the participants, pero depende ‘yun do’n sa ating policymakers kung ano ang magiging kasunduan sa susunod. It’s something that is always possible,” he said.

(Future MCAs will will depend on what would be discussed since the MCA is an agreement between all the participants, it will depend on our policymakers what follows after this.)

He also said that expanding the MCA to include other nations will be subject to further discussions at the ministerial level.

“In line with our comprehensive archipelagic defense concept, we always welcome opportunities to work with, like ‘yung sinasabi ko [what I’ve said], like-minded [nations] to further enhance the capabilities of the AFP and of course, strengthen our interoperability with partner countries,” Andolong said.—RF, GMA Integrated News