
US expert backs PH defense buildup
THE Philippines is on the right track in building up its defense capabilities, a former Pentagon official said, citing its potential to contribute to peace and “blunt” potential aggressions in the region.
Elbridge Colby, former Pentagon Deputy Assistant Secretary and co-founder of the think tank Marathon Initiative, made the statement as he cited China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and over Taiwan, which lies only a few hundred miles away from the country.
Colby, who was also the lead architect of the United States’ 2018 National Defense Strategy, agreed that Manila should continue engaging with China as a bilateral partner but at the same time back diplomacy with strength.
“The Chinese are not going to take your diplomacy seriously if you’re operating from a position of weakness, they will take our diplomacy seriously if it’s backed by force that they don’t think they can mess around,” he told reporters in an interview in Makati on Tuesday.
“What I propose is, we need to be hawkish to get to a place where we can be doves,” he added.
Colby clarified that he is not suggesting going into war but for countries to have effective deterrence to precisely avoid conflict from arising in the region.
Given its distance, Colby said a conflict in the Taiwan Strait “would also encompass the Philippines, whether the Philippines wanted it or not”.
“In that situation, I think the best course of action for Manila, and also for Washington is to work together to be as strong as possible in a way that’s measured and is not unduly provocative towards China but that makes clear to China that it is not a good idea to conduct military aggression,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez to appealed to China to order its Navy, Coast Guard and /or militia vessels to leave the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) following the departure of China’s research ship Xiang Yang Hong 10 and its dozen escort vessels from Vietnam’s EEZ early this week amid high-level talks between Chinese and United States officials in Beijing.
Vietnam had protested China’s presence in its EEZ.
“I don’t know what prompted the Chinese to leave Vietnam’s territorial waters, whether it was the Vietnamese protest or the US-China talks. But whatever it was, if they left Vietnam’s EEZ, they should also leave our exclusive economic zone,” Rodriguez said.
He said no country, big or small, should assume the right to encroach on another nation’s EEZ.
“The Chinese have no business staying in waters, shoals and islets that belong to us under international law,” he said.
Last month, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that more than 100 Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels remained in Ayungin Shoal and Juan Felipe Reef off Palawan.
Ayungin Shoal is where the Philippines maintains a small platoon of soldiers as symbol of its sovereignty over the area. Chinese Coast Guard vessels routinely confront Philippine ships and small boats resupplying the troops.
“Ayungin and Juan Felipe Reef are well within our 200-mile EEZ, the shoal being about 120 miles and the reef around 175 miles from Palawan. Those are more than 800 miles from the nearest Chinese island. China should abandon those areas,” Rodriguez said.
He said the Chinese should also leave Scarborough Shoal, which is 120 miles off Zambales and Pangasinan. Philippine News Agency, Jester Manalastas