Philippines, Malaysia set military drills

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine and Malaysian armed forces are set to hold joint military activities this year and in 2025 as part of ongoing effort to strengthen their partnership in the face of evolving global geopolitical landscape as well as threats to regional security.

Army spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala announced the coming joint military activity on Wednesday at the 36th Malaysia-Philippines Army Working Group Meeting (MALPHI AWG) at Fort Bonifacio. The Philippine Army hosted the meeting.

Assistant chief of staff for plans Col. Benjamin Leander and the Malaysian Army’s Operation and Training Branch director general Brig. Gen. Isa Bin Daud co-chaired the event.

Like the Philippines, Malaysia has claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely as its own.

Dema-ala said the annual working group meeting is intended to strengthen and develop friendly relations and cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, especially through medium-term bilateral activities including open discussions on subjects of mutual interest.

At the working group meeting, the two parties evaluated activities for this year and discussed proposals for 2025, Dema-ala said, without giving details.

Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said that through MALPHI AWG, the Philippine Army voiced its “desire to enhance and complement each others’ military capabilities in the spirit of friendship and unwavering commitment to promote regional peace and stability within the ASEAN member states.”

Meanwhile, the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) of the navies of Australia, Canada, the Philippines and the US in the West Philippine Sea entered its second and final day yesterday, with participants engaging in boat transfers, anti-submarine warfare and passing exercises.

Yesterday’s events took place in the Western Command (WESCOM)’s area of responsibility near Palawan, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Philippine Navy spokesman for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said flight quarter operations were also conducted while three People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships –Jiangkai class frigate Huanggang 570 and two Jiangdao class vessels with bow number 668 and 626 – were watching from a distance, possibly from four to eight nautical miles.

He called the presence of the Chinese vessels “dubious and inappropriate” but not a cause for alarm.

“We are also monitoring them. If they monitor us, we also monitor them,” Trinidad told reporters, describing the combined military sail and exercises as “highly successful.”

He emphasized that the latest MMCA, the first among Australia, Canada, the Philippines and the US, is not a display of force directed at any particular country but rather “a show of commitment to international law for all countries.”

Trinidad said the PLAN vessels watched the exercises at varying distances of four to eight nautical miles, which is near if based on the expanse of ocean.

He added that more MCCAs are being readied. “It’s our thrust, and with what country, we still can’t tell but definitely the thrust right now is to bring in the international community of like-minded navies and like-minded nations,” he pointed out.

Trinidad stressed that in the long-term, the goal of such joint activity is establishing and preserving stability in the Indo-Pacific Region, where China has been flexing its muscles and bullying the Philippines.

“In the first place, they have been the ones who have been doing the illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions. They have been disrupting the peace in the West Philippine Sea and in the entire South China Sea,” he said.

Looking for Sara

At the House of Representatives, an ally of Speaker Martin Romualdez took the cudgels for him against criticism from Vice President Sara Duterte, whom he accused of being silent when Filipinos needed her most, especially in the face of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

“Where was VP Duterte when the China Coast Guard was bullying and trying to punch a hole in the rubber boats of Filipinos? Where was she when Chinese fishing vessels rammed the small fishing boats of our fishermen in the West Philippine Sea?” Rep. Joel Chua asked.

Chua, the third district congressman of Manila, maintained that Duterte “should be pro-Filipino and should not be tightlipped when issues involving China crop up.”

“She should defend our countrymen, and she should not be silent when the issue involves China,” he added.

Chua observed that like her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President seems to be evading issues involving Beijing and its citizens allegedly linked to criminal activities here.

He also cited Duterte’s trip to Munich, Germany with her family at the height of Typhoon Carina and the enhanced habagat, which pummeled a huge part of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

“Where was she when Typhoon Carina hit us? When Mount Kanlaon erupted? When a bombing occurred in Mindanao State University? When El Niño phenomenon hit our farmlands? Where was she when the Filipinos – whom she said she loved – needed her most?” Chua said.

He said the Vice President has a penchant for gimmickry, comedy and theatrics to cover for her lack of performance.

“She’s just good at having sweet talk, but when she is asked for details she will evade it and just crack jokes, or sometimes put on a drama,” he said.

Chua said Duterte “is misrepresenting herself as a champion of the masses using empty words and generalizations, all the while having nothing real and concrete to show for in terms of true results as Vice President and as education secretary.”

He vowed to make the Vice President account for her huge spending over the last three years when the House takes up the OVP budget.– Delon Porcalla