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Australia has joined with the United States, the Philippines, and Japan to host a maritime cooperative activity in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, with the government reiterating support for the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award.
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The military activity reinforces the four nations’ rights to freedom of navigation and overflight, and respect for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Commonwealth asserted.
The announcement comes months after China’s coast guard targeted Philippine civilian and government ships with water cannons near the disputed Scarborough Shoal.
In December, continued hostilities saw Chinese and Philippine vessels collide with Manila soon summoning the Chinese ambassador.
The Commonwealth has explained that the activity will include naval and air force assets and will strengthen the interoperability of the four countries while respecting national sovereignty, as well as international and domestic laws.
The activity will demonstrate the “unwavering commitment” of Australia, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines to maritime law in the South China Sea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles explained.
“Australia is committed to working with our partners to uphold the global rules-based order.
“Australia has consistently emphasised the importance for all states to be able to exercise rights and freedoms, including freedom of navigation, in a manner consistent with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“This maritime cooperative activity with our partners, the Philippines, Japan and the United States, demonstrates our unwavering commitment to working together to maintain a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region.”
The Philippines’ Secretary of National Defense, Gilberto Teodoro Jr, explained that the nation was entering a series of bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure continued security in the Indo-Pacific.
“The Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC) that we are implementing includes strengthening and deepening cooperation and interoperability with all nations, big and small, to maintain regional peace and stability as well as good order at sea based on international law, principally UNCLOS.
“The series of bilateral and multilateral MCA is a step in building our country’s capacity for individual and collective self-defence. This first in a series of activities demonstrates the enduring friendship and partnership among the peace-loving peoples of the Philippines, United States, Australia, and Japan.”
