United States Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, said maritime cooperative activities (MCA) and joint patrols between the two allied countries are important not only for the Philippines but for the entire Indo-Pacific Region as well, which will lead to more of the same activities in the future.
Carlson also said that, with the United States at the forefront, other countries are also interested in conducting MCAs with the Philippines soon.
“We have to continue that exercise and make sure that we can work together, so I have no doubt that there will be many maritime cooperative activities coming up on the horizon, not just bilaterally; I would expect also multilateral; there are many other countries that are interested in cooperating with the Philippines,” Carlson said during a media roundtable during her visit to Puerto Princesa City for various activities.
She said the West Philippine Sea is important to the country as a part of its territory and, at the same time, to the rest of the world, with the Indo-Pacific Region being “an essential waterway with open sea lanes of communication.”
“That’s why many countries are looking to partner with the Philippines, and we count the United States first and foremost as your true ally,” she said.
Carlson also stated that the most recent rotation and reprovision (RORE) mission conducted by the Philippine Coast Guard to troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal can be described as flawless owing to the fact that since August last year, China has been sending its coast guard and militia vessels to harass the mission but was notably just watching the Philippine vessels last week.
“For something truly to be uneventfull or “flawless,” the very fact that we’re highlighting that since August 5th or early on that we saw the first most recent of what became a series of water cannoning incidents and ramming incidents and use of acoustic sonars and such to distract and discourage the Philippines from operating in the areas that it has the right to operate in,” she said.
“The fact that one event was relatively uneventful does not establish a pattern; we are certainly very pleased to see that the garrison on the (BRP) Sierra Madre and the troops at the station there received the needed supplies that are required—food and water and items that make their stay there more habitable—that’s very important. Of course, we’re pleased about that, and if this continues, that would be very important,” she added.
She also said that what she could not accept were the claims being made by China about allowing the Philippines to conduct the resupply mission.
“But the rhetoric that we continue to hear in the press from the PROC talking about how they allowed it—that’s not something that sounds uneventful; that doesn’t sound flawless to me,” she explained.
She likewise reaffirmed the US government’s commitment to the Philippines as a long-standing ally in terms of cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, stating that such an alliance is not a threat to China.
“We are continuing to partner; we are ironclad allies, and ever since, the Philippines has been our oldest treaty ally in this region. We are committed to our alliance, and when we talk about the Mutual Defense Treaty, M stands for mutual, which is not a threat to the People’s Republic of China. We are not threatening,” she said.
“That’s a commitment; that’s a promise we made way back in 1951. This is an enduring commitment and something that we will be continuing to watch with our allies, the Philippine government, and everything that we’ll do will be in coordination in the sense of mutual defense,” she highlighted.
She also said that the Philippines getting stronger is good news for the United States and other like-minded partners, as evidenced by a growing number of countries throwing support, particularly Japan, Australia, Canada, Korea, India, and many countries in Europe showing concern against the “unacceptable behavior that the PRC has been exhibiting.”
Moreover, Carlson said she has also discussed issues to make sure that the Indo-Pacific Region is free, open, prosperous, and connected.
She specifically mentioned a recent conference for all the US ambassadors assigned to countries in the INDOPACOM region where the Philippines was discussed “in a very positive context” and that other officials were “so impressed with the progress that the Philippines has made in defending its territory and its national security but also appreciative of the cooperation with the United States.”
“So whether it’s with the Coast Guard or Wescom, in any of the many ways that we talked about, ensuring that our militaries and our coast guards can fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows is fundamental to us being able to observe our national security. Which connects back, national security and economic security are so closely connected,” she said.
