Philippines, Aussie, Canada ships hold drills near Panatag

MANILA, Philippines —  Philippine, Australian and Canadian warships capped this year’s Exercise ALON (Amphibious and Land Operations) activities at sea with a multilateral maritime drill near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Wednesday.

Sailing from El Nido, Palawan, the participating vessels BRP Jose Rizal, HMAS Brisbane and HMCS Ville de Québec proceeded northward and conducted various exercises east of Bajo de Masinloc.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the Philippine Navy teamed up with Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy for the maritime drills.

According to him, the activities featured two major serials including Air Defense Exercise that honed the participants’ capability to counter simulated aerial threats through coordinated defensive measures.

Trinidad said another was the Photo Exercise that showcased precision formation sailing and multinational naval professionalism.

“As a key component of Exercise ALON 2025, this engagement reaffirms the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ commitment to advancing defense cooperation with like-minded nations,” he noted.

The multilateral maritime event followed Tuesday’s live-fire exercises by Philippine and Australian army soldiers in Nueva Ecija also under Exercise ALON.

Combined troops utilized the Philippine Army’s self-propelled ATMOS 155mm howitzers, the Australian Army’s M777A2 155mm mortars and light armored vehicle.

Filipino and Australian troops also used javelin anti-tank missile launchers, MK47 grenade launchers, M2 QCB machine guns, Blazer 2 sniper rifles, AW50F anti-material rifles and Mag58 general purpose machine guns.

Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala said the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force, utilizing both fixed and rotary-wing assets, provided close air support to the ground forces.

Over 3,600 troops from the Philippines, Australia, the United States and Canada are taking part in the exercise held across the joint operational area of the AFP Northern Luzon Command and the AFP Western Command.

Dema-ala said around 700 soldiers from the Philippine Army, including 300 from the 84th Infantry Battalion, are taking part in the exercise that will officially close today.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura, 7th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Norwin Pasamonte and their Australian Defense Force counterparts witnessed the live fire exercise which deepened interoperability between the two militaries.

One-China policy

Sen. Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, led a hearing into the status of the one-China policy, after her brother President Marcos’ controversial remarks saying the Philippines will be dragged “kicking and screaming” in the China-Taiwan conflict.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro yesterday said the Philippine government’s position is that “we do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.”

She cited the 1975 Joint Communique between the Philippines and China as the basis of the policy and the good relations between the two countries, despite the South China Sea maritime dispute between the two over the West Philippine Sea.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs is the guardian and steward of the one-China policy. Successive administrations have reinforced the one-China policy through separate but related issuances. The Filipino people have long standing relations with the Taiwanese people, and we therefore benefit from continued engagement with them,” Lazaro said.

“We leave it to the Chinese people to resolve Cross-Straits matters. Conflict will have an impact on geographically proximate territories,” she added.

But Marcos, who presided over the hearing, said there was a “liberalization” in the policy because of the eased restrictions on government officials visiting Taiwan.

She questioned her brother’s statement about the China-Taiwan conflict which inflamed Beijing, putting at risk up to 180,000 overseas Filipinos in the self-governed island nation.

“Not only confusing but scary,” she said of the President’s statement that “We will be dragged into that war over Taiwan, kicking and screaming,” which drew a stinging rebuke from China.

Lazaro said the eased policy only means government officials visiting Taiwan can travel without using their official titles and while using their ordinary passports on economic, trade and investment, but not political, purposes.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo questioned the adherence to the one-China policy while the China Coast Guard and its maritime militia intruded in the West Philippine Sea and harassed Filipino vessels and fisherfolk.

“While we respect what they want, while we don’t want to interfere in their affairs between China and Taiwan, but what about our position as neighbors na they can just trample, they can just come into our territory and interfere with our affairs. I think it’s high time that we rethink our position if we must continue to observe this one-China policy,” Tulfo said.

“They’ve already occupied it (WPS) and then what we’re doing is diplomacy. It’s like bringing a pen to a gunfight. And then diplomacy without deterrence is weakness… Is there any tangible leverage we have over China or are we just allowing ourselves to be bullied in the name of diplomacy?” he added.

Lazaro said diplomacy is still an important tool to resolve conflict among countries.

“We still adhere to what the President said, that this dispute should be governed by diplomacy and dialogue,” she said. “We still are of the view and strongly state that diplomacy still has an important role in this issue. It may not be immediate, but diplomacy definitely has a very important role.”

Meanwhile, top Philippine Army and United States military officials have reaffirmed their commitment toward working together and further strengthening interoperability as allied forces.

Army General Nafarrete met with US Army 1 Corps Commanding General Lt. Gen. Matthew McFarlane in Fort Bonifacio on Wednesday to discuss the enduring partnership.

The two officials talked about the long-standing alliance between the nations and the US Army’s role in helping advance the PA’s external defense capabilities.

Nafarrete, during the discussion, zeroed in on areas of engagement such as sustainment, intelligence, facility development, logistics enhancement and engineering support.

He also took note of the importance of the Philippine Army’s engagement with the US Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force on maritime domain awareness, synchronized bilateral military operations and training exercises.

In another development, Nafarrete said the army unit intensified the enhancement of skills and capabilities of approximately 200,000 personnel for the external defense as they are nearing accomplishing this year the internal operations against insurgency.

Nafarrete disclosed the army preparation to reporters on the sidelines of the 19th founding anniversary of the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga, where he was the keynote speaker and as previous commander before his assumption to PA post.

“Our focus is on how to equip our people, train them and develop them. So I can provide a well-equipped, well-skilled, disciplined army soldier to all the unified commanders. That is our focus,” Nafarrete said, stressing the need to prepare the soldiers’ skills and capabilities to sustain their gains in the counter-insurgency operation while shifting to territorial defense.

ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima and sixteen other congressmen have filed a resolution urging the government to raise the escalating tensions in the West Philippine Sea before the United Nations General Assembly and to call on China to respect the 2016 arbitral ruling, which fortifies the country’s sovereign rights over the WPS.

In filing House Resolution No. 192, the lawmakers are urging the executive department, through the DFA, to introduce a resolution before the UNGA calling on the People’s Republic of China to respect the country’s sovereign rights and to cease its repeated hostile and aggressive acts in the WPS. – Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Roel Pareño, Jose Rodel Clapano