US, Philippine defense chiefs establish Bilateral Defense Guidelines
By Robina Asido
United States and Philippine defense chiefs established a new Bilateral Defense Guideline which clarifies the two countries commitment to defend each other in case of an external armed attack in the Indo-Pacific, including the South China Sea.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III and Department of National Defense Officer in Charge (OIC) Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. established the guidelines during the visit of Philippine delegates headed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Pentagon on Wednesday.
"And let me tell you once again that our Mutual Defense Treaty applies to armed attacks on our armed forces, Coast Guard vessels, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific including anywhere in the South China Sea," Austin told Marcos in his opening remarks during their meeting.
"So, make no mistake Mr. President, we will always have your back, in the South China Sea or elsewhere in the region," he added.
According to the US Department of Defense (DOD), "the guidelines reaffirm that an armed attack in the Pacific, including anywhere in the South China Sea, on either of their public vessels, aircraft, or armed forces ? which includes their Coast Guards ? would invoke mutual defense commitments under Articles IV and V of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty."
"Recognizing that threats may arise in several domains ? including land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace ? and take the form of asymmetric, hybrid, and irregular warfare and gray-zone tactics, the guidelines chart a way forward to build interoperability in both conventional and non-conventional domains," it noted.
Based on the Article IV of the US-Philippines MDT, "each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes."
However, Article V of the treaty states that, "an armed attack on either of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or on the Island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean, its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific."
Aside from reaffirming MDT's enduring relevance in addressing both current and emerging threats, the US DOD noted that the guidelines also aims to "foster a common understanding of roles, missions, and capabilities within the framework of the alliance to face regional and global security challenges; drive unity of effort across all areas of bilateral security and defense cooperation to sustain focus on principal regional security concerns; and guide priority areas of defense cooperation to address both conventional and non-conventional security challenges of shared concern."
It also identifies "multiple lines of effort" to expand the security cooperation between the two countries which includes modernizing defense capabilities, deepening interoperability through bilateral exercises and activities, enhancing bilateral planning and information sharing, improve cyber defense and cyber security cooperation and prioritizing trilateral and other forms of multilateral cooperation based on common issues of shared concern, including pursuing opportunities for third-party participation and observation in bilateral US-Philippine defense activities.
In a joint statement of the leaders of the Philippines and United States issued on Monday, both Marcos and US President Joe Biden "welcome cooperation with partners that share the United States’ and the Philippines’ commitment to international law and mutual respect, and in that spirit, they reaffirm their strong support for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific."
It noted that the two leaders "look forward to establishing trilateral modes of cooperation among the Philippines, Japan, and the United States, as well as the Philippines, Australia, and the United States."
"Furthermore, they welcome the Quad’s commitment to support a peaceful and stable, rules-based region with ASEAN at the center, through its efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific," it stated.
The officials who joined the Philippine delegation to the Pentagon included National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano; Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.; Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Antonia Yulo Loyzaga; Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual; Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy; Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla; Migrant Workers Department Secretary Maria Susana Ople and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo. DMS
