PH-Australia new pact clears way for joint drills

详细摘要

The Philippines and Australia inked a new defense pact on Sunday that would get rid of procedural bottlenecks for the conduct of joint military activities, as both nations push…

The Philippines and Australia inked a new defense pact on Sunday that would get rid of procedural bottlenecks for the conduct of joint military activities, as both nations push back against China’s increasing aggression in the South China Sea.

The Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), signed in Manila, updates a 1995 memorandum of understanding between Manila and Canberra and creates what the allies outlined in a statement in August as a “contemporary bilateral defense framework” as they seek to bolster their security alliance.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese witnessed the signing of the agreement between Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Marc Innes-Brown and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who said the pact “streamlines the coordination process” between both sides militarily and could open the door for Manila to access Australian equipment.

“The existing memoranda are fragmented,” Teodoro told reporters. “So now, it’s all consolidated into one, and the coordinative mechanisms have also been streamlined so the work gets done faster.”

“Rather than 100 steps to do a single thing, it will just now take 10,” Teodoro said, describing the deal as an “anti-red tape measure” for the Philippine-Australia visiting forces agreement. “And it will be more purposive and not ad hoc.”

Australia is one of Manila’s closest allies in the region and a consistent supporter of the Philippines’ position in the hotly contested South China Sea. China’s sweeping nine-dash line claim over the strategic waterway encompasses Manila’s exclusive economic zone, which it calls the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

A United Nations-backed tribunal had invalidated Beijing’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea, ruling in 2016 that its historic claims under a 1940s map had no basis under international law. China has refused to recognize the ruling.

Teodoro said the DCA will help ramp up joint maritime drills with Australia in the West Philippine Sea and could broaden cooperation into…

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