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The United States is seeking a longer term for its Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the Philippines, including as it gave assurances that its military will remain in the Indo-Pacific region after the end of the Trump administration while monitoring China and its behavior. aggressive, prompting an irate retort from the Beijing embassy in Manila.
National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien said the United States wants to have a longer period for its security agreement with Manila, which the latter had just extended for another six months after requesting its termination in February this year. year.
O’Brien was in Manila on Monday for an award ceremony to officials led by Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. of precision guided munitions worth about $ 18 million for the Philippine Army campaign. against Islamic extremists in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in the Philippines on Tuesday rated the United States for what it considered an interference in the affairs of Asian countries, noting that the United States has not even recognized the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) .
The statement from the Chinese embassy, attributed to its spokesperson, denounced O’Brien’s statement as “full of Cold War mentality and incites senseless confrontation.”
At Monday’s handover ceremony to Secretary Locsin, O’Brien told the DFA chief that these are intended to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) fight terrorists in the southern Philippines “imposed by Isis [Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] in East Asia.
O’Brien’s presence in the country also allowed him access to a number of Filipino officials, including Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Domínguez, and Locsin, where wide-ranging issues were addressed, including the VFA.
“We are grateful to hear again the extension of the suspension of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the United States and the Philippines for six months, and we hope it will turn into a longer-term agreement,” O’Brien said in a telephone briefing at late afternoon with regional journalists.
“We also discussed our mutual regional strategic issues and objectives, including a free and open Indo-Pacific, especially as it relates to the South China Sea,” he added.
President Trump’s top security aide said the focus of their discussion in talks with officials was the common purpose of a free and open Indo-Pacific and a “commitment to the sovereignty of countries” in the Indo-Pacific, “Especially those bordering southern China. Sea”, where he reiterated the support of the United States.
“A commitment on behalf of the United States to support our allies in Asean and our friends and partners in the region. The commitment is that we will support them as they promote international law and the rule of law as it pertains to the South China Sea, ”O’Brien said.
The national security adviser said that states have exclusive rights to resources within their exclusive economic zones.
“We are far beyond the days of imperialism where a country, because it is big or powerful, can simply take the heritage of a smaller country because it has the power to do so. And what I’ve constantly said in Vietnam and the Philippines, and I think has resonated with the leadership in both places, is that the fishing rights, the mineral rights, the oil and gas rights that are found in the EEZs of the different countries. ASEAN countries belong to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those countries, ”O’Brien said.
“And they should not be captured by a neighbor who happens to be bigger or stronger or richer or who has a more powerful army,” he added, apparently alluding to China.
‘We are here, we are not leaving’
“So, we are here. We have the backing of our partners and our allies, especially our treaty allies like the Philippines. And that was a common discussion that we had with the leaders of Vietnam and the Philippines, ”said the US official, who had also met with Vietnamese officials before flying to the Philippines.
He said the United States will not leave and will continue to maintain its presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid political developments in the United States, and will do so even after the end of Trump’s term.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m here in the region – to convey the American commitment to our treaty partners, to our allies, to our partners. The United States is a Pacific power. We have a long Pacific coastline, like many, many of the countries that the people on this call are from.
We are also a great power in the Pacific and we have long-term commitments here, ”he said.
“We are going to be here, we support you and we are not leaving. We are not going to be expelled from the Indo-Pacific region. We will fight for a free and open Indo-Pacific region with all our friends and partners. And I think that when we send that message, that message of peace through force, is the way to deter China, “he added.
United States rejected Unclos
The Chinese embassy said the United States refused to join the UN, but continues to speak of the UN body, “and abused its provisions everywhere, infringing on the maritime rights and interests of other countries.
“The United States is not a party to the SCS dispute, but it frequently sends warships and aircraft to the SCS on numerous occasions for military provocations, even using the electronic codes of civil aviation aircraft from the Philippines and other regional countries. to carry spy flights in the SCS. “
The Chinese embassy said O’Brien had made some unreasonable comments on the SCS, Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs during his visit to the Philippines.
“The [O’Brien] he blatantly accused China for no reason, seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs, deliberately exaggerated regional tensions, and tried to sow discord between China and the Philippines. “
He said O’Brien’s visit to this region “is not to promote regional peace and stability, but to create chaos in the region in order to pursue selfish interests of the United States.”
“We urge the US side to respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the SCS, respect the joint efforts of China and the ASEAN countries to maintain a peaceful and stable South China Sea and stop interfering and incite confrontation in the SCS. “
