Patrol talks: Marcos Jr (left) walks beside a guard of honour at the Brigadier General Benito N. Ebuen Airbase in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. — AP
THE country is in talks to possibly include Australia and Japan in planned joint South China Sea patrols with the United States, a senior diplomat said, in another sign of concern over Beijing’s activities in the strategic waters.
“Meetings have already been set and probably we may have the Japanese and the Australians join in,” Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said.
“They would like to join in for joint patrols to make sure that there’s the code of conduct and there’s freedom of navigation,” adding it was still “an idea under discussion”.
If the plan materialises, it will be the first time the Philippines has joined multilateral maritime patrols in the South China Sea, a move that would likely anger Beijing, which claims most of the seaThe foreign ministries of Australia and the embassies of the United States and China in Manila did not immediately respond to separate requests for comment.
Japan would “explore the possibility of cooperating with partners to reinforce maritime domain awareness and the maritime law enforcement”, its embassy in Manila said on Tuesday, adding there was no specific plan or discussion about joint patrols.
The patrol talks and renewed engagement with the United States underscore how much Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has realigned his country with its historic ally, moving away from predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s hostile approach to Washington while still pursuing close economic engagement with regional powerhouse China. — Reuters
