Tolentino wants Philippines to conduct regular joint patrol with Australia, Japan, and the US at WPS to deter China’s bullying, signal a strengthened alliance

Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino favors the Philippines conducting regular joint patrol with Australia, Japan, and the United States at the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to signal a strengthened alliance with ‘like-minded’ countries and strongly deter China’s bullying of the Philippines.

“So, I think it (joint patrol at WPS) will signify a commitment to mutual defense and security cooperation among allies. Our diplomatic ties with defense allies strengthened. To those saying it will further enrage China, for me, it will promote more regional stability because the joint patrol will contribute to regional security and cooperation,” Tolentino said in an interview.

On April 7, five ships participated in the joint patrol with BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz from the Philippines; the littoral combat ship USS Mobile from the United States; HMAS Warramunga from Australia; and Japanese destroyer Akebono.

Tolentino foresaw joint patrols with other countries becoming a regular occurrence at WPS, not just stand-alone military patrol exercises that happened on Sunday.

He said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) encourages states to cooperate in conserving and managing living resources on the high seas as provided by Articles 1, 2, and 3 of the UNCLOS.

Tolentino also cited Article 94 of UNCLOS, which provides that states must cooperate to maintain peace, security, and good order in the oceans.

With Chinese forces tailing the joint patrol of Australia, Japan, the US, and the Philippines, the lawmaker sees that China wants to show its citizens that they are not afraid to clap back at the joint patrol.

“But that’s what it is,” he quipped.

Tolentino recalled the border dispute between China and Russia in 1991, which resulted in skirmishes. Still, both countries continued their border patrols despite the trouble, which ended in 2004 with the signing of the Sino-Soviet border agreement, a treaty on good neighborliness and friendship.

He mentioned the maritime dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia in the Celebes Sea in the Ambalat Area, where gas and oil reserves are located.

“Their maritime dispute lasted so long, but again, they resolved it in 2009, and the treaty between the two countries was signed,” Tolentino shared.

He also brought up the 20-year border dispute between China and Vietnam from 1979 to 1999, which resulted in a land border treaty between the disputing countries.

“What I see here is that we are already doing this, the joint maritime patrol or maritime cooperative agreement (MCA), as we call it now, while we continue our diplomatic engagement with China,” Tolentino said.

However, he said the Philippines must continuously strengthen its defense alliances and establish non-defense treaty alliances with maritime countries like Norway, the Netherlands, and Chile for marine and scientific research.

Tolentino hopes that China will negotiate with the Philippines if a given favorable situation does not embarrass them. 

Referring to the border disputes that happened between China and Russia, China and Vietnam, and even Malaysia and Indonesia, he sees that over time the dispute between China and the Philippines will be peacefully resolved.

“I am positive that there will be a resolution in this dispute, even as we must not surrender and strengthen our defense alliances and internal defense capability, which we are doing now,” Tolentino said.