MANILA, Philippines — Just as the Philippines resumes its joint maritime patrols with the United States, Manila is now also exploring the possibility of conducting similar exercises with Australia in the West Philippine Sea.
In a joint press conference on Wednesday, Defense Officer in Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. and counterpart Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles both confirmed that the two countries are considering to conduct joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea.
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“We did talk today about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue that work and we hope that that comes to fruition soon,” Marles said, adding that the South China Sea is one of the most important trade routes for Australia.
He noted that both the Philippines and Australia are committed to maintaining international rules-based order and asserting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Marles also said the Philippines will be “very central” to its Indo-Pacific Endeavor (IPE) this year. The IPE, which kickstarted in 2017, is Australia’s annual naval regional engagements to strengthen military partnerships within the Indo Pacific.
The Philippines welcomed the development as Galvez said the defense department is hoping to have “more intensive service-to-service engagements” with other countries.
Aside from talks of joint patrols, the two officials also discussed Australia’s support for the Philippines in counterterrorism efforts.
The two defense officials also planned to hold an annual defense ministers’ meeting between Manila and Canberra. Australia will also send one of its largest contingents to participate in balikatan exercises this year, while the Philippines will be sending some observers to Australia and the United States’ joint defense exercise called the Talisman Sabre in August.