US, Japan, Indonesia to bolster military presence against PLA in South China Sea

After China announced the extension of military drill being conducted by People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the disputed territorial waters of the South China Sea to March 31, defense chiefs of Japan and Indonesia on Monday agreed to boost defense cooperation in the disputed region to deter China’s belligerence and PLA’s unilateral attempts of changing status quo in the South and East China seas.  In an attempt to tackle China’s aggression after at least 200 PRC flagged militias flotillas anchored in Julian Felipe Reef (Chinese name Whitsun Reef; Vietnam's Da Ba Dau) within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and Indonesian defense chief Prabowo Subianto decided to hold 2+2 talks on Tuesday in Tokyo to bolster regional diplomacy and military influence to deter Chinese threat. 

The two countries will invoke forces to hold a joint military exercise in the South China Sea to upgrade maritime defenses for its Southeast Asian ally nations, Japan’s defense minister Kishi told a presser, according to sources of Japan’s Kyodo news agency. Furthermore, he condemned China’s assertiveness and boat incursion near Spratly islands at about 175 nautical miles (324 kilometers) west of Bataraza town in the western Philippine province of Palawan that violated the maritime rights and sovereignty of the Philippines. 

Japan, in an apparent shift of its diplomatic posture, questioned China’s new Coast Guard regulation that states the PLA can “take all necessary measures, including the use of weapons, when [China's] national sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction are being illegally infringed upon by foreign organizations or individuals at sea." The United States backed Japan’s sentiments as it voiced support for its oldest ally Philippines denouncing China’s use of militias to “intimidate, provoke, and threaten” smaller island nations. 

“We share the concerns of our Philippine allies. The PRC uses maritime militia to intimidate, provoke, and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region,” the Embassy said in a statement. 

[Chinese flagged vessels. Image Credit: Twitter/@seanleicester1]

“We stand with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in Asia,” the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement, referring to Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea. The US embassy stated that it has seen reports of the People’s Republic of China’s fishing vessels swarming near Whitsun, unwilling to deter its course despite repeated warnings made by Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. A diplomatic protest was filed against Chinese boats by F oreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday. 

Philippines to enhance naval forces

In retaliation to the PLA’s territorial encroachment that is now a major military flashpoints, Philippines on March 28 sent fighter aircrafts that conducted flybys hovering over hundreds of Chinese flotillas, escalating tensions. In a subsequent statement, Defense Secretary Lorenzana warned that the Philippines will shortly enhance its naval forces in the territorial waters that will conduct “sovereignty patrols” and safeguard the Philippines' maritime resources and the fishermen.

Meanwhile, Chinese embassy in the Philippines reacted strongly against military escalation in the South China sea, as it said that it was under normal circumstances that the Chinese vessels sought shelter near Niu’s reef in hundreds, one of the "main archipelagoes" in the South China Sea, which China claims in its entirety despite  United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS recognizing it as ‘international waters’.

(Image Credit: AP)