MANILA: The Philippines and the United States are discussing conducting joint coast guard patrols, including in the South China Sea, a Manila official said on Monday.
With overlapping sovereign claims in the strategic waterway, the Philippines has ramped up rhetoric against what it describes as China’s “aggressive activities” in the South China Sea, which has also become a flashpoint for Chinese and US tensions around naval operation.
Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) spokesperson on South China See issues, told CNN Philippines that talks with the United States have advanced beyond the infancy stage and the likelihood of carrying out joint patrols is high.
Tarriela did not provide details on the scale or timing of the proposed patrols, which come after the Pentagon said this month the United States and the Philippines had “agreed to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea.”
“There is already a clear path of possibility since the Defense Department of the United States has also supported the joint patrol with the Philippine navy and the US navy so there is a certainty for this particular joint patrols to happen between the coast guard of both countries,” Tarriela said.
“There is also a possibility that it will be conducted in the South China Sea in support of the freedom of navigation of the United States government,” he said.
Rommel Jude Ong, former vice commander of the Philippine Navy, told Reuters on Monday, the idea of a coast guard deployment in the South China Sea instead of the navy will “mitigate any miscalculation and prevent China from finding an excuse to escalate tension” in the waterway.
Earlier this month, the PCG accused China’s coast guard of aiming a “military-grade laser” against its vessel supporting a resupply mission for troops on an atoll, temporarily blinding its crew, prompting expressions of concern from other countries including Japan, Australia and the United States. China has refuted the PCG’s account, which it said did not reflect the truth.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the joint patrols.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr last week summoned China’s ambassador to relay his concern over the frequency and intensity of China’s actions in the South China Sea.
Philippines, US discuss joint coast guard patrols in South China Sea
https://arab.news/v7bkk
Philippines, US discuss joint coast guard patrols in South China Sea
- Details were not provided on the scale or timing of the proposed patrols
- Chinese coast guard earlier accused of aiming a ‘military-grade laser’ against a Philippine coast guard vessel
Trump tells Britain he does not need its help to win Iran war
- Rejects deployment of UK aircraft carriers to help the US and Israel in their war with Iran
- Trump was reacting to reports that the UK was preparing the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for possible deployment
Trump was reacting to reports that the UK was preparing the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for possible deployment
DOVER, US: President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Britain is giving “serious thought” to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East, but added that the US does not need them to win the war with Iran, in the latest clash between the military allies.
“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East,”
Trump said. "That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer,” Trump posted to his Truth Social account.
“But we will remember,” he said. “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!“
Trump posted the message shortly after attending the return of the first six US service members killed in the Middle East war, at Dover Airforce Base in the northeastern state of Delaware.
British media reports say the Royal Navy is preparing the HMS Prince Wales, an aircraft carrier currently at Portsmouth in southern England, for possible deployment to the Middle East, but no final decision had been made.
Trump has said he is “not happy with the UK,” mocking Starmer by saying “this is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
The social media post comes after the British Ministry of Defense said on Saturday it was preparing the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier for possible deployment.
But no final decision has been taken about whether to deploy the aircraft carrier to the Middle East, a British official said.
Starmer has defended his decision not to allow US forces to use British bases to support initial strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal and well planned.
He later granted US forces permission to use British bases for what he called defensive strikes against Iranian missiles in storage depots or launchers.
Starmer earlier this year criticized Trump’s desire to buy Greenland and said his comments that European troops avoided frontline combat in the war in Afghanistan were “frankly appalling.”
