MANILA: The United States has laid out in clear terms the extent of its defense treaty commitments to the Philippines, issuing new guidelines that refer specifically to attacks in the South China Sea, including on its coast guard.
The six-page “bilateral defense guidelines” agreed in Washington on Wednesday follow a renewed push under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to update the Mutual Defense Treaty with the former colonial ruler, at a time of increased tension and maritime confrontation with China.
The guidelines were a first since the treaty was signed in 1951 and follow scores of Philippine diplomatic protests in the past year over what it calls China’s “aggressive” actions and threats against its coast guard.
The guidelines said the bilateral treaty commitments would be invoked if either is attacked specifically in the South China Sea and also if coast guard vessels were the target.
It was also updated to include references to modern forms of warfare, including “grey zone tactics,” which China is accused of using to assert its claims to sovereignty. The guidelines did not mention China specifically.
“Recognizing that threats may arise in several domains – including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace – and take the form of asymmetric, hybrid, and irregular warfare and grey-zone tactics, the guidelines chart a way forward to build interoperability in both conventional and non-conventional domains,” according to the Pentagon.
The South China Sea, a waterway vital to global trade, has become a major flashpoint in the increasingly testy relationship between China and the United States.
The guidelines send a “warning” to China against targeting the Philippine coast guard said Rommel Ong, former vice commander of the Philippine navy and a professor at the Ateneo School of Government.
Julio Amador, head of the Foundation for the National Interest, a Manila-based think-tank focusing on strategic and security issues, said of the security guidelines “It’s clear that it will give China some pause.”
China’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it opposed the use of bilateral defense treaties to interfere in the South China Sea, which “should not be a hunting ground for external forces.”
The guidelines were released during visit to Washington this week by Marcos, which included talks with counterpart Joe Biden.
Marcos also met Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who told him “we will always have your back, in the South China Sea or elsewhere in the region.”
Ties with the United States have deepened under Marcos, who in February granted its military access to more of his country’s bases, prompting accusations from China that the deal was “stoking the fire” of regional tension.
US issues guidelines on defending Philippines from South China Sea attack
https://arab.news/2y9g4
US issues guidelines on defending Philippines from South China Sea attack
- The South China Sea, a waterway vital to global trade, has become a major flashpoint in the increasingly testy relationship between China and the US
US bombers join Japanese jets in show of force after China–Russia drills
- Japan says US B-52 bombers flew with Japanese F-35s and F-15s
- South Korea and Japan have scrambled jets during Chinese and Russian drills
TOKYO: US nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets on Wednesday, Tokyo said, in a show of force following Chinese and Russian drills in the skies and seas around Japan and South Korea.
Japan and the US “reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and US forces,” Japan’s defense ministry said in a press release on Thursday.
The flight of two US B-52 strategic bombers with three Japanese F-35 stealth fighters and three F-15 air-superiority jets was the first time the US had asserted its military presence since China began military exercises in the region last week.
The display follows a joint flight of Chinese and Russian strategic bombers in the East China Sea and western Pacific on Tuesday and separate Chinese aircraft carrier drills that prompted Japan to scramble jets that Tokyo said were targeted by radar beams.
The encounter drew criticism from Washington, which said the incident was “not conducive to regional peace and stability” and reaffirmed that its alliance with Japan was “unwavering.”
Both Japan and South Korea host US forces, with Japan home to the biggest concentration of American military power overseas, including an aircraft carrier strike group and a US Marine expeditionary force.
China denied Tokyo’s accusation, saying Japanese jets flying near the carrier had endangered its air operations south of Japan.
South Korea’s military said it also scrambled fighter jets when the Chinese and Russian aircraft entered its air defense identification zone on Tuesday, an area that extends beyond its airspace and is used for early warning.
Regional tensions have risen since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100 km (62 miles) from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes on which Tokyo relies.
