No Chinese vessels seen at joint Coast Guard drills

MARIVELES, Bataan, Philippines — No Chinese vessels were spotted during the Kaagapay maritime exercises of the Philippine Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) yesterday here, the PCG said.

PCG deputy spokesman Lt. Junior Grade Jherich John Ybañez said the exercises for search and rescue and security were successful this year as operations ran smoothly.

Ybañez added that even though the disputed territory is far from the site of the exercises, the PCG would have to call a radio challenge should foreign vessels attempt to enter Philippine shores.

Security vessels of the PGC were deployed within the exercise area as part of its protocols.

The exercises simulated a vessel entering Philippine territory, where the PCG would perform a radio challenge.

Members of the USCG and JCG docked in the Philippines last June 1 for the joint maritime exercises, which aim to strengthen ties among the three coast guards in terms of communication, maneuvering drills, photo exercises, maritime law enforcement training, search and rescue and passing exercises.

On behalf of PCG commandant Admiral Artemio Abu, PCG spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo thanked the JCG and USCG for participating in the first tri-lateral maritime exercises, which continues until today.

Balilo also thanked the Philippine and Japan Coast Guards for extending their help in the cleanup operations for the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

Asked about pushing for PCG modernization, Balilo emphasized that they are always on it for their patrolling of the country’s territories, maritime safety, search and rescue as well as environmental protection.

“We really need to modernize, we need new ships, we need air assets, piers, docks, radar stations,” he said in Filipino and English.

He added that everything is “in the pipeline, and the Philippine Coast Guard is pushing for it.”

Area of focus

Meanwhile, the Indo-Pacific is the United States military’s number-one area of focus, according to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, calling China the pacing challenge.

Austin, who was in Singapore last Monday for the Shangri-La Dialogue, the premier meeting of defense ministers and experts in the region, said the US would continue to work with its regional allies to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, despite challenges emanating from China.

“As you look at our budget request … our budget request is directly linked to our strategy, and you see us continuing to invest in things that are relevant to our efforts in this region,” he said.

The US continues to send its most modern and capable weapons systems to the Indo-Pacific and the former’s defense department has allotted more than $9 billion to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative.

The agency continues to invest in research for systems tailored to the region, including work on hypersonics, deterrence of cyberthreats and more.

After Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu spoke at the event, Austin said, “I would just say that … it’s interesting to listen to … what he says. (But) what’s most important is – watch what they do.”

Austin expressed concern about China’s “irresponsible behavior” in the South China Sea.

“We’ve seen close intercepts and the coercive behavior in the waterways,” he said.

As the US defense chief arrived in Singapore, there were reports of an incident where a Chinese ship came within 150 meters of the USS Chung Hoon and a Canadian vessel, which were transiting the Taiwan Strait.

Two weeks ago, a Chinese aircraft intercepted a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft operating in international airspace.

“The freedom of navigation’s operations that the United States and other nations engage in are perfectly legal. They should be interested in freedom of navigation as well because … it would affect them,” Austin said.

“I call upon China’s leadership to really do the right things, to rein in that kind of conduct because I think accidents can happen that could cause things to spiral out of control,” he added. — Pia Lee-Brago