PHL, Australia discuss joint patrols in South China Sea

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

maritime patrols in the WPS, apparently to counter China’s aggressive activities there.

A ustralia is a key ally of the country and one of only two states after the US where it has an existing security agreement, this being the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA).

A side from joint patrols, which may possibly involve planes and ships, Australia and the Philippines are bent on strengthening their military alliance, which include training of forces.

on a regular basis.

“ We will be establishing on an annual basis now as a result of today’s meeting, a Defense Ministers’ Meeting, between our two countries, so that it becomes a formed institutional path of the architecture of our two countries, and we look forward to the first of those meetings, after this, occurring in Australia,” he said.

M arles said the Philippines and Australia will also sign a strategic partnership later this year.

T he idea of joint patrols was discussed on Wednesday during the meeting between Department of National Defense Officer in Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. and Australia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles.

M arles’ visit in the country coincided with the ongoing counter terrorism training between Philippine Army units and the Australian Army which began on Monday in Maguindanao and will last until end-March.

“(We are) also looking at ways which we can pursue joint patrols together in the South China Sea, only has 270,775 households, 95.6 percent or 258,818 of them are Roman Catholic. and looking at ways in which we can do more exercises together,” Marles said during a news briefing with Galvez at Camp Aguinaldo.

T he third Bicol province is Sorsogon, where 94 percent or 3.139 million of household population is Catholic. Sorsogon is ranked 5th nationwide in terms of having more than 90 percent of its households being Catholic.

O ther regions with high concentrations of Catholics were Region VIII-Eastern Visayas with 92.3 percent, and Region VII - Central Visayas with 90.5 percent.

E xcept for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which posted the lowest proportion of Roman Catholics at 5.3 percent, the proportion of Roman Catholics in the rest of the regions exceeded 50 percentranging from 54.1 percent in Region XII - Soccsksargen to 89.2 percent in Region IV-A-Calabarzon.

I slam is the most predominant religion in BARMM, accounting for 4.49 million persons or 90.9 percent of the 4.94-million household population in the region in 2020.

It was followed by Region IXZamboanga Peninsula with 18.2 percent, Soccsksargen with 15.8 percent; Region X-Northern Mindanao with 8.5 percent; and Region XI-Davao Region and Mimaropa Region with 3.5 percent each.

Meanwhile, Region XIII-Caraga, which is also in Mindanao, registered a proportion of Islam of only 0.5 percent. The rest of the regions posted proportions ranging from 0.1 percent each in Bicol and Region VI-Western Visayas to 1.3 percent in the NCR.

O f all the provinces, PSA said Tawi-Tawi registered the highest proportion of the household population who reported Islam as their religion, with 426,403 persons or 97.2 percent of the 438,545 household population in the province.

A ll the other provinces in BARMM registered proportions higher than 89 percent, namely: Interim province in BARMM with 96.3 percent; Sulu with 95.2 percent; Lanao del Sur with 94.7 percent; Basilan with 89.9 percent, and Maguindanao with 83.5 percent.

I f it pushes through, Australia would be the second country to join the Philippines in its patrol of its maritime waters in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which China disputes and where it has recently harassed crew members of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel by flashing a military-grade laser.

D uring his visit to Manila earlier this month, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III disclosed that the US had agreed with the Philippines to resume their joint

“ We are sending one of the largest contingents to Exercise Balikatan in the coming months and we look forward to the Philippines, for the first time, sending observers to Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia in August,” Marles said.

“All of these speaks to a deepening relationship, a relationship built on a very strong foundation both at the level of government and at the level of people. And we’re really excited and filled with optimism about where this relationship goes,” he added.

Marles said that during his meeting with Galvez, they agreed that the Philippines and Australia will hold a defense ministers’ meeting

Meanwhile, Galvez said he affirmed with his Australian counterpart the need for both countries to work together toward the goal of maintaining a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific region.

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We also agreed to explore other possible areas of cooperation while reaffirming that counterterrorism and maritime security remain as core pillars of our nations’ bilateral defense cooperation,” Galvez said.

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The Philippines also reiterated its appreciation to Australia for its consistent support to the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal award, and at the same time, its continued support during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.