Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 4) — The Philippines is not totally closing its doors to participating in joint military exercises in the South China Sea, the country’s top security official said Wednesday.
“For now, we think that getting into military exercises in the area doesn't contribute much to a peaceful South China Sea or West Philippine Sea. We will continue to evaluate that however,” National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said in an online media briefing.
“[W]e have put them on hold for several reasons but we will consider them again as the situation develops,” he added.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced in August that President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a ban on joining other countries in naval exercises in the South China Sea, "except [in] our national waters.” Lorenzana told CNN Philippines that this has actually been Duterte's order since 2016, when he assumed the presidency and pursued an independent foreign policy that was widely seen as a pivot to China.
The US Navy conducted two massive drills in the South China Sea in July, sending two aircraft carriers in a move condemned by China.
China has also been stepping up its naval exercises in the global waterway, which it claims almost entirely. While the US does not claim any part of the South China Sea, it conducts freedom of navigation operations and calls most of Beijing’s claims as “unlawful.”
Meanwhile, the Duterte presidency has been criticized for its soft stance on the maritime dispute even as China continues to reject the Philippines' arbitration win.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague recognized the Philippines’ sovereign rights to areas within its exclusive economic zone that China contests. It also ruled that China violated the Philippines’ rights when it built artificial islands, blocked Filipino fishermen from fishing, and interfered in petroleum exploration in the West Philippine Sea.
Duterte “agreed to disagree” on the arbitral ruling to pursue friendly ties with China. The Philippines is now country coordinator for negotiations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China for a Code of Conduct, which will determine the only allowable actions countries can take in disputed waters.
Esperon is optimistic the code will be completed within the 2021 target date.
“We still hope that by 2021, we can sign a final agreement on the Code of Conduct and this will govern a more orderly and more peaceful, more inclusive activities in the South China Sea,” Esperon said. “We are very positive about it. The talks are ongoing,” he added.
ASEAN has been pushing for a legally binding Code of Conduct for decades but progress has been slow due to resistance from Beijing. In September 2019, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, Jr. announced that a draft has been reached after Beijing "softened its insistence on controversial provisions" – which earlier delayed the passage of the accord.