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Australia and Philippines are exploring joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea

Australia and the Philippines are exploring joint patrols in the disputed South China Sea, where recent “aggressive activities” by the Chinese coast guard against a Philippine vessel saw Beijing’s envoy in Manila summoned by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday that he had discussed joint patrols with Philippine Defense Secretary Carlit Galvez Jr.

“As countries committed to a rules-based global order, it is only natural that we should think about ways we can work together in this regard,” Marles said at a press conference at the Philippine Department of National Defense in Quezon City. “Today we talked about the possibility of exploring joint patrols and we will continue to work on that and we hope that it will come to fruition soon,” he said.

The prospect of the Philippines and Australia holding joint patrols in the South China Sea comes on the heels of similar discussions between Manila and Washington, and against a backdrop of China’s increasingly muscular approach to asserting its vast territorial claims in the contested sea.

Jay Tarriela, spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard on South China Sea issues, told Philippines on Monday that talks with the United States have progressed beyond the initial stage and that the likelihood of conducting joint patrols is high.

Tarriela did not provide details on the scope or timing of the proposed patrols, which come after the Pentagon said this month that the US and the Philippines “agreed to resume joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea.”

“There is already a clear possibility because the United States Department of Defense has also supported a joint patrol with the Philippine Navy and the US Navy, so there is certainty that these particular joint patrols will happen between the coast guards of the two countries. Tarriela said.

Rommel Jude Ong, a former deputy commander of the Philippine Navy, told Reuters news agency on Monday that the idea of ​​deploying the Philippine and US coast guards in the South China Sea instead of the navy “will mitigate any miscalculation and prevent China from finding an excuse.” to escalate tensions’ in the waterway.

Earlier this month, Manila accused China’s coast guard of targeting one of its coast guard vessels with a “military-grade laser” that was supporting a supply mission for troops on an atoll in the South China Sea.

Manila blasted what it said were China’s “aggressive activities” in the South China Sea, and President Marcos Jr. summoned the Chinese ambassador to express his “serious concern” over the harassment of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel. The incident caused concern in other countries including Japan, Australia and the US.

China refuted the Philippine report of the incident, which it said did not reflect the truth. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week that his country’s coast guard acted “professionally and with restraint” toward the Philippine ship.

Wang also accused the Philippines and the US of engaging in “pure political drama” in bringing the case to the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in 2016 that China had no legal basis for its territorial claim to almost the entire South China Sea. China would not be intimidated by the US, Wang said.

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