Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 27) — Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro called for joint patrols with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s increasing aggression in the area.
\”We welcome joint patrols with ASEAN countries,\” he told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Friday. “We exhort our ASEAN counterparts and ASEAN countries in order to support our claims against further intrusions by China.”
The defense chief said joint patrols is one of the topics he may discuss with counterparts during the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia next month.
Asked if any other country within the 10-member bloc has expressed interest in joint patrols, he said so far none from the defense side but that there could be engagements among foreign affairs officials.
This comes after US lawmakers welcomed plans for joint patrols in the contested waters following a collision between Chinese and Philippine vessels near Ayungin Shoal on Oct. 22.
READ: Biden reasserts ‘ironclad’ defense commitment after West PH Sea collisions
Teodoro said holding joint patrols with the United States within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is “perfectly legal under international law.”
“It is just China’s incredulous and illegal claim to most of the South China Sea which goes against the grain of the rights of the Philippines to conduct activities within these areas,” he added.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from shore where the coastal state has the right to explore and exploit, and the responsibility to conserve and manage both living and non-living resources.
A 2016 arbitral ruling favored the Philippines in areas of its EEZ and continental shelf that China claims, including Ayungin Shoal about 105 nautical miles from Palawan. The East Asian power continues to reject the ruling.
Prior to the collision, China had been conducting dangerous maneuvers, even launching water cannon attack and military-grade laser pointing against Philippine vessels on a resupply mission for military troops in the grounded BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.
Teodoro said the Philippines is ready for the worse. He added the country is only standing up for its rights and is “placing a spine on our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
