Joint patrols in the South China Sea by the Philippines and the United States could commence in the third quarter of this year.
The announcement follows a reaffirmation of the United States’ pledge to protect Manila from any potential attack from the sea. The Philippine ambassador to the United States, Jose Manuel Romualdez, acknowledged that timeline in an interview with CNN Philippines, Reuters reported.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez, first announced the joint maritime patrols in February. The two countries engaged in a huge joint military exercise two months later, as previously reported in The Dallas Express.
The Pentagon has issued guidelines that clarified the extent of the U.S. defense treaty commitments to the Philippines, particularly in the South China Sea. The guidelines include references to attacks on the Philippines’ coast guard and assurances that the United States would defend its ally in case of an attack.
The South China Sea, which China claims, is one of the busiest maritime trade routes globally, accounting for more than $3.4 trillion in trade annually. Other claimants to the disputed waters include Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, told U.S. Ambassador Nicolas Burns on Monday that Washington is responsible for the recent downturn in the US-China relationship and must “reflect deeply” before the ties can be restored, AP News reported.
Qin claimed that a “series of erroneous words and deeds by the U.S.” since a meeting in November between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping “has undermined the hard-won positive momentum of Sino-US relations.”
He also said that the U.S. should “correct its understanding of China and return to rationality” and stop “undermining China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests,” particularly through its support of Taiwan’s independent identity, according to AP News.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, China sanctioned U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (TX-R) last month after the congressman visited Taiwan, accusing him of sending “separatist forces” on the island nation a “[seriously] wrong signal.”
Nicolas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, said that he discussed with Qin the challenges facing the relationship between their countries and the need to stabilize and expand high-level communication. Burns also reiterated the United States’ commitment to providing defensive arms to Taiwan so that it can have a proper defense and build up deterrence, reported AP News.
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