China accuses PH of ‘courting influence’ after Australia drills

This handout photo taken on August 7, 2024 and released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shows (L-R) HMCS Montreal (FFH336), BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16), USS Lake Erie (CG70 and BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) sailing during the joint Philippines, US, Canada, and Australia Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

MANILA, Philippines — China’s defense ministry slammed the Philippines for “courting influence from outside powers” in reaction to the country’s recently concluded biennial drills with Australia in the West Philippine Sea.

However, military officials from the Philippines and Australia took exception to the remarks pertaining to the recently concluded Amphibious Landing Operation (Alon) Exercise.

China’s Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang, in a Wednesday press conference, said the Philippine side “has repeatedly courted influence from outside powers to make waves in this area.”

During the drills, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) warships, joined by Australia and Canada, sailed off the water of El Nido, Palawan, and off the eastern section of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

READ: US-denies-chinas-claim-of-expelling-uss-higgins-from-scarborough/

Maj. Gen. Francisco Lorenzo Jr., commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Education, Training and Doctrine Command, said the “dual patrol” of both nations in the West Philippines Sea was done to exercise the interoperability of both navies.

`Nothing wrong with that’

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Lorenzo said in a joint interview after the closing ceremony of Alon Exercise at Camp Aguinaldo, adding that the drills are backed by the bounds legal framework of both countries.

“It is normal for allies and partners to train together, to build interoperability and certainly normal for allies and partners to exercise within each other’s territories,” said Major General Paul Kenny, Deputy Theater Commander of Australian Army’s Joint Operations Command, in the same interview.

The drills came weeks after the Aug. 11 collision of Chinese ships off the shoal.

China Coast Guard (CCG) ship with hull number 3104 was chasing Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) BRP Suluan at high speed when it clashed with People’s Liberation Army-Navy warship No. 164, according to Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea.

Tarriela said the forecastle of the CCG ship was crushed while four of its crew members went overboard.

On August 13, or two days after the Panatag collision the United States also sent two of its warships there in what the U.S. 7th Fleet called an exercise of freedom of navigation.

READ: 2 US warships deployed off Scarborough Shoal days after Chinese collision

“At the same time, certain external countries have instigated and supported the Philippines to take irresponsible actions that harm the shared interests of regional countries,” Zhang also said in what could be a veiled reference to the United States.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo said the drills off Panatag Shoal and other West Philippine Sea went unhampered despite the presence of Chinese ships in the area.

“Fortunately, we did not experience any interference from any threat … in our West Philippine Sea area,” he said.

This year’s Alon—which means “wave” in Filipino—saw the largest deployment of Canberra troops outside its territory, joined by 1,600 Australian personnel. It ran from August 15 to 29.

While Alon was ongoing, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense chief Richard Marles signed on Aug. 22 a statement of intent for the creation of Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) of Manila and Canberra.

The talks for a DCA between Manila and Canberra is in line with the provisions of the longstanding memorandum of understanding on Defence Cooperation and the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement of both nations. /mr