‘US commitment to defend PH remains’

US Department of Defense logo

MANILA – Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and his US counterpart Ash Carter talked about ‘regional security issues,’ including the Spratly Islands dispute on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held in Malaysia.

“Secretary Carter welcomed the opportunity to discuss regional security issues with one of our closest allies in the Asia Pacific and stressed that the US commitment to defend the Philippines is ironclad,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

Gazmin, for his part, welcomed the recent US naval maneuver in the contested region and acknowledged the ‘closer cooperation with the US in Philippine force modernization efforts.’

Meanwhile, a ‘joint statement’ at the end of the ASEAN forum was dropped. Officials who hosted the meeting have not yet released a statement over the cancellation but a source claimed that China lobbied for the exclusion of the territorial dispute in the statement.

“The reason is because the Chinese lobbied to keep any reference to the South China Sea out of the final joint declaration,” a Reuters source said. “Understandably, a number of ASEAN countries felt that was inappropriate. It reflects the divide China’s reclamation and militarization in the South China Seahas caused in the region.”

‘Wherever’ law allows

Despite China’s opposition, the US Navy will continue their patrols ‘wherever’ international law allowed, said US admiral and Pacific Command commander Harry Harris.

“International seas and airspace belong to everyone and are not the dominion of any single nation… Our military will continue to fly, sail and operate whenever and wherever international law allows. The South China Sea is not and will not be an exception,” Harris said.

“We’ve been conducting freedom of navigation operations all over the world for decades, so no one should be surprised by them,” he added.

It can be noted that the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen previously sailed near Chinese reclaimed reefs in the Spratly Islands last week. The move was part of US’s ‘routine freedom of navigation operations’ which intended to ‘prevent the decomposition of international laws and norms.’

US, China still have ‘common ground’

While the US and the Philippines tackled ‘security issues,’ US Navy chief Admiral John Richardson also met with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Wu Shengli and discussed the contested waters.

“Some pundits predict a coming clash between our nations. I do not ascribe to this pessimistic view… While we certainly disagree on some topics – the most public being China’s claims in the South China Sea and our activities there – there are many areas where we have common ground,” Harris said.

Backstory: US, Chinese Navy chiefs tackle maritime tensions on Spratlys