Australia and Philippines sign new defence pact amid South China Sea tensions

Australia and the Philippines signed a defence agreement on Sunday to make joint patrols, military exercises and disaster relief operations easier to organise, Philippine officials said.

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr and Australian Ambassador Marc Innes-Brown signed the agreement in Manila, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attending the ceremony during his visit for regional summits.

The Defence Cooperation Arrangement updates a 1995 agreement. It builds on a separate visiting forces agreement, in force since 2012, which already allows troops from each country to train on the other’s territory.

Teodoro said the new arrangement would simplify the procedures for carrying out joint activities.

“Rather than 100 steps to do a single thing, it will just now take 10,” he told reporters, according to Reuters.

He said closer cooperation between the countries’ naval, air and ground forces would help the Philippines deter threats, including in the South China Sea.

Australia said the agreement covered information sharing, military planning and training, monitoring activity at sea and developing defence infrastructure.

Asked whether the pact was intended to counter China, Albanese said: “This isn’t aimed at any one country. This is about supporting sovereignty of every country.”

He said most Australian trade passed through the South China Sea and stressed the importance of keeping shipping routes open.

Australia also announced additional funding for its Southeast Asia Maritime Partnerships programme. It will provide regional partners with aerial and surface drones, secure communications equipment and training to help detect and respond to threats at sea and cyberattacks. The announcement did not give a funding figure.

Manila expands its defence partnerships

The agreement follows several recent steps by the Philippines to strengthen military ties with its partners.

On 9 November, Japan agreed to supply coastal radar and surveillance drones to the Philippine military under a 4.3 billion yen (€24 million) grant. The equipment is intended to help monitor ships in waters around the country.

In a statement released on 10 November, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and the United States also committed to a joint military coordination centre in the Philippines. They agreed to coordinate defence investments and expand joint exercises.

China’s claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of the Philippines and several other Southeast Asian countries. Beijing has previously criticised Manila’s joint military activities with its partners, saying they increase regional tensions.

An international tribunal ruled in 2016 that China’s claims of historic rights to resources had no legal basis where they exceeded the rights granted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing rejects the ruling.