Philippines, Australia launch sea, air patrols in South China Sea

Amid heightened tensions with Beijing over the contested waters, the Philippines and Australia kicked off their first joint maritime patrols on Saturday, days after the Southeast Asian nation concluded a similar activity with the US in the South China Sea.

The Philippines and Australia started their first joint maritime patrols Saturday, days after similar activity conducted by the Southeast Asian nation with the United States in the South China Sea.

The joint patrols with Australia kicked off shortly after Manila took similar measures with the United States, as Pacific nations cautiously monitored an increasingly assertive China. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the three-day exercises on social media. These joint patrols were established following discussions earlier this year between the Philippines and Australia, aiming to emphasize their commitment to a rules-based order.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own waters, which has led to disputes not only with the Philippines but also with Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei. These claims have long been regarded as potential flashpoints in the region, and have fuelled U.S.-China rivalry.

Earlier this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines said the situation in the South China Sea “has become more dire” as China expands its presence in an area where multiple nations have competing territorial claims.

China has shown interest in atolls and shoals that are “closer and closer” to the coast of the Philippines, with the nearest atoll about 60 nautical miles (111 kilometres) away, Marcos said.

“Unfortunately, I cannot report that the situation is improving,” Marcos said Sunday. “The situation has become more dire than it was before.”

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis. The Philippines is ramping up efforts to counter what it describes as China’s “aggressive activities” in the South China Sea, which has also become a flashpoint for Chinese and US tensions around naval operations.

The South China Sea is a region claimed in almost its entirety by China, serving as a crucial passage for over $3 trillion in annual ship-borne commerce. This includes areas contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

“Australia and the Philippines are firmly committed to the peaceful, secure and prosperous region, where sovereignty and agreed rules and norms are respected,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in a joint statement posted by Marcos.

“The first joint patrol between the Australian Defence Force and the Armed Forces of the Philippines demonstrates this commitment,” Marles said.

The patrols will be carried out in the West Philippine Sea, said Philippine Department of National Defence spokesperson Arsenio Andolong, using Manila’s term for waters in the South China Sea that fall within its exclusive economic zone. The Philippine military said two of its navy vessels and five surveillance aircraft would participate, while Australia would send the frigate Toowoomba and P8-A maritime surveillance aircraft.

“This inaugural Maritime Cooperative Activity and those that may follow are a practical manifestation of the growing and deepening strategic and defence partnership between our countries,” Marcos said on X, the platform formerly called Twitter. The Philippines and the United States concluded three-day joint sea and air patrols on Thursday, starting in waters near Taiwan, a democratically governed island that China claims as its own, and ending in the West Philippine Sea.

In an apparent reference to the United States, the southern theatre command of China’s military said on Thursday that the Philippines “enlisted foreign forces” to patrol the South China Sea and has been stirring up trouble since Tuesday.

With inputs from agencies.