By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Just like the Boy Scout motto: “Be always prepared,” the Philippines and its reliable neighbor-friend Australia have announced the start of joint air and sea patrols within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), confirming the “strategic partnership” that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed last September this year.
On Sunday, the President warned that the Chinese military had “started to show interest” in building bases on reefs that were “closer and closer to the Philippine coastline.”
This warning came on the heels of the announcement made on Saturday, November 25, by Australia and the Philippines regarding the start of joint air and sea patrols off the Southeast Asian nation.
Marcos Jr. said the joint patrols were “a practical manifestation of the growing and deepening strategic and defense partnership between our countries.”
“We endeavor to enhance bilateral interoperability in maritime security and domain awareness,” the President said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
It was learned that the Philippines will deploy two navy vessels and five surveillance aircraft to join Australia’s HMAS Toowoomba warship and a P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft.
Department of National Defense (DND) Arsenio Andolong clarified that the maritime patrols will be held inside the Philippines’ EEZ.
The joint air and sea patrols were aimed at deepening their defense cooperation to counter China’s assertiveness in the region.
Noticeably, the “maritime cooperative activity” came days after the United States held a similar exercise with the Philippines in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely with what it calls the internationally unrecognized nine-dash line.
In a joint statement, the Australian and Philippine defense chiefs said the three-day patrols showed their “shared commitment to exercising freedom of navigation and overflight consistent with international law.”
(ai/mnm)
