Members of the Philippine Coast Guard take part in a joint maritime exercise with coastguards from Japan and the US off the coast of Mariveles, Bataan province, in the Philippines, on June 6. Photo: Bloomberg
Opinion
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III
Coastguard drills with Philippines, Japan the latest sign of US-driven security cooperation
The South China Sea exercises presage the renaissance of the US-led Asia-Pacific alliance system, this time featuring not only the traditional hub-and-spoke system but also spoke-to-spoke arrangements
As defence chiefs and security experts from the Asia-Pacific and beyond gathered in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, coastguards from the Philippines, the United States and Japan held their first joint drills in the disputed South China Sea last week. The move was part of a growing web of minilateral security groupings emerging in response to shared security concerns.
In a way, they presage the renaissance of the US-led alliance system in the region, this time featuring not only the traditional hub-and-spoke system but also spoke-to-spoke arrangements. Such ad hoc clusters can serve as precursors for more institutionalised frameworks for security cooperation in the future. Plans to set up an “Asian Nato” might see such minilateral groupings as potential building blocks.
The trilateral exercises took place in waters off Mariveles, a town in Bataan province on the main island of Luzon. They featured manoeuvres, photo exercises, maritime law enforcement training, search and rescue and passing exercises.
This trilateral grouping is motivated by a variety of issues. For the Philippines, a defence capacity shortfall and huge power asymmetry with China will continue to drive interest in minilaterals like this one, as well as the Quad and Aukus. For Japan, a desire to keep the US engaged in the region and its bid to become a “normal country” and security provider will deepen its involvement in minilaterals. For the US, revitalised alliance ties are useful in its long-term strategic competition with China.
The drills are founded on the long-standing Philippine-US alliance and long-running Philippine-Japan coastguard cooperation. The US has provided security assistance to the Armed Forces of the Philippines through military education and training, joint exercises, and asset sales and transfers. Meanwhile, Japan has provided support to the civilian Philippine Coast Guard.
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US, Japan and Philippines hold first joint coastguard exercise in the South China Sea
US, Japan and Philippines hold first joint coastguard exercise in the South China Sea
Tokyo extended a loan to Manila to shore up the latter’s maritime capacity, financing and delivering two new modern multirole response vessels. The two new ships commissioned last year are now the biggest in the Philippine coastguard’s fleet. Japan is also in talks to underwrite the construction of a new home port for these vessels in Subic Bay. Since the 1970s, more than 300 Filipino coastguard personnel have received training in Japan.
Manila is seizing the chance to upgrade its maritime capabilities to strengthen its presence in the South China Sea. The US and Japan, along with the rest of the Group of 7 nations meeting in Hiroshima last month, reiterated their support for the 2016 South China Sea arbitration award, repudiating Beijing’s maritime claims.
Washington and Tokyo are ramping up aid to coastal states to counter illegal fishing and foreign interference in marine resource activities within their exclusive economic zones. While the US focus is on freedom of navigation operations and military exercises with allies, Japan is funding the maritime capacity development of littoral states.
The trilateral coastguard exercises showcase Japan’s growing security profile in the region. Riding on the back of the US alliance, Tokyo is expanding its security role in an increasingly fraught neighbourhood. Setting aside Japan’s wartime legacy, the Philippines is one of the countries in the region openly receptive to the idea of a more security-engaged Japan.
Japanese amphibious assault vehicles hit the beach during a landing exercise at the Philippine Navy training centre in San Antonio town, Zambales province, north of Manila, on October 6, 2018, as part of the annual joint US-Philippine marines exercises. That marked the first time Tokyo’s armoured vehicles had rolled onto foreign soil since World War II. Photo: AFP
In 2018, Japanese armoured vehicles rolled out to a foreign beach (in Subic) to take part in the Philippines-US Kamandag exercises. In 2020, Manila purchased Mitsubishi air search radars – the first exports from Japan of complete defence equipment systems approved under new guidelines established in 2014.
Shipment of the radar systems and training of Philippine Air Force personnel who will operate them began last year. In November, the first Japanese fighter planes to arrive in the Philippines since World War II took part in exchanges with their Filipino counterparts.
Japanese troops also participate in regular Philippine-US bilateral military exercises, while the Philippines and Japan are exploring a possible Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), as well as reciprocal access and servicing agreements, among others. Manila has VFAs with Washington and Canberra and has provided military access to the US in nine agreed locations across the country under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement.
The tripartite coastguard exercises are built on growing security engagements between the three countries. In March 2016, joint staff talks between the Philippine Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force and US 7th Fleet took place aboard the USS Blue Ridge on a visit to Manila. Last September, the first Trilateral Defence Policy Dialogue between the three militaries took place online.
In December, a vice-ministerial-level Philippines-Japan defence dialogue took place in Manila, while a trilateral coastguard working-level meeting was held on June 3.
The three nations are discussing a possible framework for ministerial-level security talks involving their national security advisers. Defence chiefs of the three countries plus Australia also met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
The coastguard exercises could provide a platform for joint operations in the disputed South China Sea with like-minded allies and partners, with reports indicating further exercises could take place in October. The drills could also have a bearing on other flashpoints such as the Taiwan Strait. Both Japan and the Philippines have provided access to forward bases for the US. Developing greater interoperability and working together more will allow their forces to better respond to regional emergencies.
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III is a Taiwan Fellow and a visiting scholar at National Chengchi University’s Department of Diplomacy and Centre for Foreign Policy Studies
