But Strategic Dialogue Produces No New Measures to Tackle Beijing’s Push in Disputed South China Sea
MANILA—The U.S. and the Philippines vowed to deepen their military alliance on Wednesday, despite tensions over a stalled defense pact and allegations a U.S. Marine murdered a Filipino transgender woman last year.
At the end of an annual two-day strategic dialogue in Manila, the high-level U.S. and Philippine panels also criticized China for what they characterized as its provocative actions in the South China Sea. But they didn’t identify any new measures they could take to prevent China from tightening its grip on the disputed region, as analysts warned China will likely ratchet up the territorial pressure on Manila this year.
The U.S. and the Philippines signed a new defense pact last April that would allow U.S. forces to deploy to Philippine military bases. However, the deal remains on ice thanks to a legal challenge currently before the Philippine Supreme Court.
The alliance was placed under further strain in October when a U.S. Marine was named as the suspect in the murder of Jennifer Laude in Subic Bay—a regular port of call for U.S. Navy ships—west of Manila. Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton was charged with her murder in December and is awaiting trial.
Critics of the new defense pact said the American decision to retain custody of Mr. Pemberton—despite requests that he be surrendered to Philippine authorities—demonstrated the inequality of the U.S.-Philippine alliance.
But on Wednesday, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel R. Russel dismissed such claims by hailing the alliance as “a true partnership of equals,” and reaffirmed Washington’s “rock-solid commitment to the Philippines.” Philippine foreign affairs undersecretary for policy Evan Garcia said the alliance remained “deep” and “flexible.”
In a joint statement, the two nations said they would “continue…efforts to reinforce” their militaries, and strengthen them in key areas, such as maritime domain awareness.
However, on China’s moves to control the South China Sea, there was no sign of new solutions. Mr. Russel confirmed that “the Chinese have a number of projects under way in the South China Sea in which they are reclaiming land in shoals and rocks in sensitive areas where sovereignty has been contested,” and reiterated calls for Beijing to desist from such efforts.
Mr. Garcia said the “massive reclamation by China in the South China Sea is a clear violation” of an agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in which all parties pledged to avoid provocative actions. This month, Manila said a new artificial Chinese island with a potential military base at Fiery Cross Reef, in the Spratly Islands, was 50% complete.
However, the officials said only that they would continue trying to persuade China to moderate its actions—chiefly though high-level dialogue and by modernizing the Philippine military—even though Beijing has ignored such efforts until now.
Chinese officials have previously confirmed China’s land-reclamation efforts but said these are legitimate projects being undertaken in sovereign Chinese territory.
Zachary Abuza, a U.S.-based consultant on Southeast Asian affairs, said China would complete a number of artificial islands over the next few months, after which “the Philippines will be the focus of their actions.” He suggested that “China really does want to probe the U.S. response,” to test how far Washington would go to protect Filipino interests.
The continuing Philippine legal action at The Hague, challenging China’s claim to most of the South China Sea, “continues to cast a dark shadow over Philippines-China relations,” said Richard Javad Heydarian, a political-science professor at De La Salle University in Manila, despite a recent easing of tensions. He said a genuine strengthening of the U.S.-Philippine alliance would be “crucial to deterring China from further adventurism.” © Provided by The Wall Street Journal l TREFOR MOSS
Write to Trefor Moss at Trefor.Moss@wsj.com
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