AFP, US Military Assistance Group discuss response to Philippine EEZ ‘situation’

The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Joint US Military Assistance Group-Philippines (JUSMAG) discussed the management and response to the “situation” in the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

On Monday, AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo said the meeting between AFP chief General Cirilito Sobejana and JUSMAG-Philippines chief Colonel Stephen Ma was fruitful.

“The discussions centered on how the Philippine and the United States armed forces can manage and respond to the situation in the Philippine EEZ,” Arevalo said in a statement.

According to Arevalo, the AFP and JUSMAG agreed to have subsequent meetings.

On Sunday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and US Defense chief Lloyd Austin III discussed the situation in the West Philippine Sea and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Department of National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the Defense Secretaries discussed the “situation in the West Philippine Sea and recent developments in regional security" in a teleconference.

After the continued presence of Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, the DND said the Philippines would use its mutual defense relations with the US to address the situation.

Earlier, the US warned China against its increasingly aggressive moves against the Philippines as well as Taiwan.

"An armed attack against the Philippines' armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

"We share the concerns of our Philippine allies regarding the continued reported massing of PRC maritime militia near the Whitsun Reef," Price said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

On March 7, around 220 vessels were spotted in the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea, located 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Palawan Island.

Lorenzana had demanded the immediate removal of the Chinese vessels from the Julian Felipe Reef.

The Chinese Embassy said that the vessels were only “seeking shelter” near the reef, which they claimed was part of China’s Nansha Islands or Spratlys in the South China Sea. — DVM, GMA News