US, Philippines hope to resume joint war games in South China Sea

Defense chiefs from the Philippines and the United States have expressed hope to resume joint military exercises in the South China Sea, which were called off last year by President Rodrigo Duterte amid speculations that he wanted to avoid taking sides between Beijing and Washington.

Last year, Duterte told the military to refrain from joining other countries, including the United States and Australia, in maritime drills in the sea’s international waters.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, said in a telephone conversation on Sunday that “both are looking forward to the conduct of Exercise Balikatan.”

The two defense chiefs also discussed recent developments in regional security, according to a statement issued by Lorenzana’s department.

Austin reiterated the importance of a two-decade troop deployment agreement between Washington and Manila, known as Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

The VFA provides the legal framework under which US troops can operate on a rotational basis in the Philippines.

President Duterte unilaterally canceled the agreement last year in an angry response to an ally being denied a US visa.

He said in February that Washington must pay more if it wants to maintain the agreement.

The withdrawal period has, however, been twice extended to create what Philippine officials say is a “window for better terms” to be agreed.

Duterte has openly disapproved of the long-standing US military alliance.

The latest messaging on the joint war games came just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Filipino counterpart, Teodoro Locsin, discussed China’s activities in the South China sea.

Blinken expressed concerns over the massing of Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef, and reaffirmed that the mutual defense treaty between Washington and Manila applied to the South China Sea.

Manila, which also claims sovereignty over parts of the sea, accuses China of scattering “maritime militia” inside the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea.

It has called on Beijing to withdraw the ships, calling their presence in the strategic waterway an “incursion into its sovereign territory.”

China, however, says, the fishing boats were just sheltering from rough seas and no militia were aboard.

On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged the US to stop “inciting quarrels and sowing discord” regarding the Whitsun Reef situation.

China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, a key global trading route that is also rich in natural resources.

The Philippines won an arbitration case on the dispute at The Hague-based International Court of Arbitration in 2016, which rejected Beijing’s sweeping claims to much of the disputed waterway. China rejected that ruling as void.

The US sides with China’s opponents in the territorial dispute and regularly dispatches warships and warplanes to the South China Sea to conduct what it calls “freedom of navigation” patrols.

On Saturday, China demanded the US stop its provocative moves in the region, and respect Beijing’s peaceful dialogue with the Philippines concerning regional issues.

A spokesperson for Duterte also said last Tuesday that the president remained committed to peacefully resolving the South China Sea issue with China.

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