SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Philippines' Marcos says US presence crucial to regional peace
Singapore, May 31 (AFP) May 31, 2024
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said Friday that the presence of the United States was "crucial to regional peace", as the Southeast Asian country faces growing Chinese pressure in waters off its coastline.

Marcos has sought to deepen defence cooperation with the United States as he stands up to Chinese actions in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.

"China's determining influence over the security situation and the economic evolution of this region is a permanent fact," Marcos said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a major security forum attended by defence ministers from around the world.

"At the same time, the stabilising presence of the United States is crucial to regional peace. It's never a choice. Both countries are important."

The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, is a key focus of Washington's efforts to strengthen alliances and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to counter China's growing military might and influence.

Given its position in the South China Sea and proximity to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, Philippine support would be crucial for the United States in the event of any conflict.

The Philippines expanded a 2014 agreement last year to give US military access to another four of its bases, taking the total to nine, including two in the far north of the country less than 450 kilometres (280 miles) from Taiwan.

The Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement allows US troops to rotate through and store defence equipment and supplies.

The United States' growing presence in the region and its regular deployment of warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea have infuriated China's leaders in Beijing.

China has accused the United States of using the Philippines as a "pawn to stir up trouble in the South China Sea".


- 'Illegal, coercive, aggressive' -


Manila and Beijing have a long history of maritime territorial disputes, but tensions have worsened under Marcos.

In an effort to win international backing for its stance, Manila has published images of incidents involving Chinese and Philippine vessels, and invited local and foreign media on its patrol boats.

China Coast Guard vessels have used water cannon against Philippine boats multiple times in the contested waters, where there have also been collisions that injured several Filipino troops.

Beijing defends its actions as "legitimate" and "necessary law enforcement measures" in response to Philippine vessels that it says have illegally entered its territorial waters.

China claims almost the entire waterway, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and ignoring an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.

To assert its stance, Beijing deploys coast guard and other boats to patrol the waters and has turned several reefs into artificial islands that it has militarised.

Many of the confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have happened near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.

The reef, where a handful of Filipino troops are garrisoned on a grounded navy vessel, is about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the western Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 1,000 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island.

"Illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions continue to violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdictions," Marcos said Friday.

"I do not intend to yield," he said. "Filipinos do not yield".


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
China Focus: Chinese scientist details first planned Mars sample-return mission Tianwen 3
NASA says it will lose about 20 percent of its workforce
Building blocks of life found in distant star system suggest origins in interstellar space

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Trump administration expected to say greenhouse gases aren't harmful
MicroCarb satellite launches to map global carbon dioxide emissions from space
Rollable solar array by GalaxySpace redefines satellite compactness and power efficiency

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Airbus CO3D satellites begin mission to generate high precision global 3D map
BlackSky to supply satellite imagery and analytics for Latin American security operations
GovSat selects Thales Alenia Space to build secure satellite for military communications

24/7 News Coverage
First wildfire images reveal FireSat's unmatched detection capabilities
MetOp Second Generation satellite fully fuelled ahead of August launch
MicroCarb satellite launch marks new era in urban carbon tracking



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.