{"id":172059,"date":"2023-11-21T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mediaintel.asia\/?p=927634"},"modified":"2023-11-21T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T00:00:00","slug":"philippines-launches-joint-sea-air-patrols-with-u-s-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinalegalblog.com\/en\/2023\/11\/21\/philippines-launches-joint-sea-air-patrols-with-u-s-military\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippines launches joint sea, air patrols with U.S. military"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MediaIntel.Asia\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. President of the Philippines speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS\/Carlos Barria\/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
\nSummary Patrols start in northernmost Philippine island near Taiwan
\nUS, Philippines deploy combat, surveillance planes, navy ships
\nManila beefs up U.S. ties this year as relations with China sour
\nMANILA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The militaries of the Philippines and the United States launched joint patrols on Tuesday in waters near Taiwan, officials of the Southeast Asian nation said, a move likely to fan further tension with China.
\nSecurity engagements between the treaty allies have soared this year, including a decision to almost double the number of Philippine bases the American military can access, some facing Taiwan, and their largest-ever joint military drill in April.
\nThis week's three-day joint air and maritime exercise was a \"significant initiative\" to boost interoperability between the two, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.
\n\"I am confident this ... will contribute to a more secure and stable environment for our people,\" he said on social media platform X.
\nThe drill would start off in Mavulis island, the Philippines' northernmost point, located about 100 km (62 miles) off Taiwan, said Eugene Cabusao, spokesperson for the Northern Luzon command.
\nIt will end in the West Philippine Sea, the name Manila uses for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
\nThe Philippine military said three navy vessels, two FA-50 light combat aircraft and a A-29B Super Tucano light attack plane would participate, while the United States would send a littoral combat ship and a P8-A maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.
\nThe news comes a day after Marcos told a forum in Hawaii the situation in the South China Sea had become more \"dire\", with the Chinese military inching closer to the Philippine coastline.
\nThe patrols, which are likely to irk China, are a sign the Philippines is stepping up its defence posture amid what it described as China's \"aggressive activities\" in the highly strategic waters, long seen as a potential flashpoint between the United States and China.
\nChina's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the exercise.
\nChina claims most of the South China Sea on the basis of a \"nine-dash line\" that stretches as far as 1,500 km (900 miles) south of its mainland, cutting into the EEZs of rival claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
\nMarcos has forged closer ties with Washington since assuming office last year after a testy relationship with former President Rodrigo Duterte, who had pivoted closer to Beijing in exchange for infrastructure projects and investments.
\nTies with China have soured under Marcos, with repeated standoffs between Chinese and Filipino vessels in waters claimed by both countries, prompting heated exchanges of rhetoric and concerns of an escalation.
\nMarcos recently met Chinese President Xi Jinping in a bid to reduce the tension.
\nThe joint patrol with the United States showed the Manila was making a stand over the South China Sea, said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea in Manila, the capital.
\n\"It shows that the Philippines is really firming up its posture on West Philippine Sea issues,\" Batongbacal said.
\nReporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty and Clarence Fernandez
\nOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/p>\n

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. President of the Philippines speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS\/Carlos Barria\/ File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
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