WASHINGTON – The United States has assured the Philippines of assistance in maritime security and stressed its preference for a multilateral and “collaborative” approach to solving territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
The US assurance was contained in a joint statement issued after a meeting Monday between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
The promised US maritime assistance covers activities aimed at stopping the destruction of coral reefs and poaching of endangered marine species.
The US assurance came amid a standoff between Philippine and Chinese vessels at the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off Zambales.
In the joint statement, the Philippines and the US “reaffirm (their) common interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and transit of people across the seas and subscribe to a rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas though peaceful, collaborative, multilateral, and diplomatic processes within the framework of international law, including as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
The two countries also stressed the importance of their Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) but kept quiet on whether the 1951 pact obliged the US to come to the aid of its ally in case shooting broke out at Panatag Shoal.
China has been locked in a maritime dispute with the Philippines over Panatag Shoal, which is only 124 nautical miles from Zambales and well within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone. China is claiming the entire West Philippine Sea as its own.
The standoff began on April 10 when Chinese vessels prevented the crew of Philippine Navy flagship BRP Gregorio del Pilar from arresting Chinese poachers on eight fishing boats. The poachers were able to flee days later with their illegal harvest of endangered corals, giant clams, and live sharks.
In their joint statement, the Philippines and the US agreed that their respective military forces should be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to any contingencies that may arise in the region.
They also agreed to jointly explore how to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Philippines to achieve a credible defense posture and to cooperate in building the Philippines’ maritime security capabilities and strengthening its maritime domain awareness.
“To that end, the United States intends to transfer a second High Endurance cutter to the Philippines this year,” the statement said.
At a press conference after the 80-minute meeting, Clinton expressed deep concern at events surrounding Panatag Shoal.
“The US supports a collaborative, diplomatic process by all those involved to resolving the various disputes they encounter.
“We oppose the threat or use of force by any party to advance its claims and we will remain in close contact with our ally, the Philippines,” she said.
After the meeting Clinton was due to board a flight for Beijing for a 4th round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue aimed at finding an effective and constructive relationship between them so they can work together.
In her statement, Clinton said the US was interested in seeing the Philippines join the Trans-Pacific Partnership – an agreement currently being negotiated by nine nations – Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam.
She said the Obama administration has conveyed to the US Congress the Aquino administration’s hope that the US would allow Philippine-made apparel to enter duty free to revive the garment and textile industries of both countries.
Before he left Manila for the so-called 2+2 meeting, the first between the two countries, Del Rosario was quoted in the local press as saying he would seek assurances the US would come to the aid of the Philippines if shots were fired at Panatag Shoal.
Asked at the press conference if he got a categorical response, he sidestepped the question and said both sides were committed to ensuring the MDT remained robust, agile and responsive “to meet our common objective, including maritime security.”
“In terms of US commitment, I think the US has been very clear that they do not get involved in territorial disputes, but that they are firm in terms of taking a position for… a peaceful settlement of the disputes in the South China Sea, towards a multilateral approach and the use of a rules-based regime in accordance with international law, specifically UNCLOS,” Del Rosario said.
The US Congressional Research Service, in a recent report prepared for members and committees of Congress, said the MDT left room for different interpretations.
Some Philippine officials have suggested the treaty obliges the United States to come to the defense of the Philippines if China were to take disputed territories in the South China Sea by force.
However, some interpretations limit US intervention to a foreign military attack on the main Philippine islands or upon Philippine military forces.
The Obama administration has not specified the circumstances under which the US armed forces would intervene on behalf of the Philippines, as this might raise tension rather than lower it, some analysts said.
The joint statement concluded by saying “the US-Philippines alliance remains an essential element undergirding regional peace, security, and prosperity.”
Panetta was to host a dinner for Gazmin at the Pentagon after the 2+2 meeting and it is here where details of defense cooperation are expected to be threshed out.
Apart from Del Rosario and Gazmin, those in the Philippine side at the conference included Navy chief Vice-Admiral Alexander Pama, new Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Lauro de la Cruz and Patricia Paez of the Office of American Affairs at the Foreign Office.
At the House of Representatives, Deputy Majority Leader Roman Romulo said the Panatag standoff should prompt President Aquino to strengthen the Philippine Navy.
“Effective diplomacy is the best approach to disagreements over our territorial waters. A stronger Navy will surely reinforce our diplomacy,” he said.
Romulo said insurgencies have kept the government from developing a robust Navy, which, he added, “is absolutely imperative for an archipelago with more than 7,100 islands.”
“Instead of being primed to ward off potential foreign aggression, our Armed Forces have been wholly geared up to suppress domestic dissidents. This is why we have a big Army, but a small Navy,” he said.
The Army has 80,000 officers and men, the Navy has 26,000 and the Air Force has 17,000.
“We’ve developed a bulky infantry trained to fight on foot local dissidents in our mountains and jungles. Sadly, this was achieved at the expense of building an adequate Navy, or a passable Air Force for that matter,” he said.
“The Philippines is one of the five biggest archipelagos in the world, along with Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Yet, we also have one of the smallest and most poorly equipped navies in the world,” he said.
He noted that neighboring countries that are not archipelagos like Malaysia and Thailand “have naval forces that are more respectable than ours.”
“We really have to build up our Navy,” he stressed. The Navy’s largest warship – BRP Gregorio del Pilar – is an old decommissioned US Coast Guard cutter. The ship was retrofitted and gifted to the Philippines last year under America’s excess defense article program.
Former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., meanwhile, said Philippine and Chinese vessels should “pull out of the disputed Panatag Shoal simultaneously so nobody loses face.”
“It is perhaps the most practical temporary solution to end the tension and resolve the Philippines-China standoff,” De Venecia said in a statement from Dili, East Timor where he and other political leaders in the region have launched the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC) to assist peace mediation efforts in Asia.
De Venecia is the founding chairman and founding president, respectively, of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI) that met in Dili last week. The event was sponsored by the Timor Leste government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate outgoing President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.
The two groups also welcomed the initiative of a 14-woman Philippine congressional delegation led by De Venecia’s wife Pangasinan Rep. Gina de Venecia to China earlier last month “to help contribute to defuse the tension and advance efforts to convert a zone of conflict into a zone of peace, friendship, cooperation and development at a time of escalating inflammatory rhetoric on the South China Sea issue.” With Pia Lee-Brago, Jess Diaz, Alexis Romero, Paolo Romero