The US and the Philippines on Monday reaffirmed the importance of regional security in the Taiwan Strait following the 12th Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Manila.
Washington and Manila in a joint statement released by the US Department of State emphasized collective defense in deterring aggression anywhere along the first island chain, of which Taiwan is a part.
The two countries “condemned China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities in the South China Sea,” and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Photo: Reuters
“They underscored their support for preserving freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce and other lawful uses of the sea for all nations,” the statement said.
The two sides committed to maintaining a high level of vigilance in the Indo-Pacific region to prevent conflict, and vowed to establish robust measures and deterrent capabilities to ensure unhindered passage through maritime waterways, free from arbitrary control by any single nation.
“Collective defense is critical to denying and deterring aggression anywhere in the first island chain,” the statement said.
Photo: AP
The US and the Philippines also reaffirmed their commitment to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, promising to act jointly in response to armed attacks on either nation’s territory, armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including the South China Sea
The statement said the countries “strongly opposed any threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”
The statement also outlined plans to bolster interoperability and conduct more realistic exercises to enhance readiness for contingencies.
The US pledged to push for modernizing the Philippine armed forces and coast guard, and “to increase the deployments of US cutting-edge missiles and unmanned systems to the Philippines.”
Additionally, the US is allocating an additional US$144 million for this fiscal year to support sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, focusing on infrastructure development.
The agreement allows US forces to use Philippine bases for joint training, equipment storage, and the construction of facilities such as runways and fuel depots, although it does not establish permanent US basing.
The US in 2024 installed in the northern Philippines a US mid-range missile system called Typhon and an anti-ship missile launcher last year.
Neither side elaborated on the new planned missile deployments but Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez, who took part in Monday’s talks, said that US and Philippine defense officials discussed the possible deployment this year of “upgraded” types of US missile launchers that the Philippines might eventually decide to purchase.
“It’s a kind of system that’s really very sophisticated and will be deployed here in the hope that, down the road, we will be able to get our own,” Romualdez said.
The US missile deployments to the Philippines did not aim to antagonize any country, he said.
“It’s purely for deterrence,” he said. “Every time the Chinese show any kind of aggression, it only strengthens our resolve to have these types.”
Additional reporting by AP
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS