Philippines to ramp up US military ties amid ‘aggressive’ China

MANILA: The Philippines is planning "more robust” military activities with the US and its allies in the face of a "more aggressive” China, the Nation’s top defence official said.

"The alliance with the US is extremely strong,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr (pic) said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday (Jan 17) in his office in Manila.

"We would like to build up our capabilities in order for us to be a more effective contributor to regional stability.”

The Philippines is building on a stronger partnership with the US under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to expand ties with "other allies and like-minded countries” including Australia, Japan, the UK and Canada amid the threat of China’s "domination” in the South China Sea.

As the US heads into a crucial election in November, Teodoro hopes that Washington’s defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific will not waver.

"A lot has been invested already on both sides,” Teodoro said, referring to the US and Philippine engagements. Ensuring security in the Indo-Pacific and rights of passage in the vital trade route benefits not only the US and its allies but the entire global economy, according to the defence minister.

Teodoro, 59, a lawyer by training and a one-time presidential contender is helming the Defence Department again at a time when his nation is navigating mounting tensions with Beijing that lays a sweeping claim to most of the South China Sea.

Earlier this month, China’s navy and air force conducted joint patrols in the area as the US and the Philippines held drills.

Meanwhile, Beijing summoned the Philippine envoy Tuesday after Marcos congratulated Lai Ching-te for winning Taiwan’s presidential election.

The defence chief, who first held the role between 2007 and 2009, said that what worries him the most about the sea dispute is "the possibility of a miscalculation or a conflict.” He reaffirmed an earlier assessment that the South China Sea is a more valuable target for Beijing than Taiwan, given the promise of oil and natural gas reserves in the area.

"This could mean that they really want total domination and control over everything from free passage to resources, or they want to bear hug the Philippines to make them the sole joint venture partner in the exploration or exploitation of resources in this area,” Teodoro said.

"Whatever it is, their legal proposition is untenable and has been rejected by the whole world.”

"You’re dealing with a country without any openness, with opaqueness, with unpredictability, with no external indicators to show what its next move will be,” he said of China.

As a result, countries like the Philippines have to be prepared all the time, which Teodoro said has kept him busy "hardening and building up our alliances” in line with Marcos’s foreign policy stance.

The Philippine leader has been bolstering his country’s longstanding defence alliance with the US, notably expanding American access to military bases near potential flashpoints - Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The deeper defense ties have drawn criticism from China, with its top diplomat warning Manila last month against colluding with "malicious external forces.” Beijing has expansive claims in the South China Sea, and has recently clashed with Philippine vessels in the contested waters. - Bloomberg