팔라완을 방문한 미 국방장관, 미 국방장관의 장관급 회담을 거절한 중국

[위종민]

필리핀을 방문중인 로이드 오스틴 국방장관이 필리핀군 서부사령부가 위치한 팔라완섬을 방문했네요. 

중국은 대만에 대한 미국의 무기 판매를 이유로 미 국방장관과의 장관급 회담을 거절했습니다. 

SecDef visits South China Sea island to bolster Philippines and check China - Defense One

SecDef visits South China Sea island to bolster Philippines and check China

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin steps off his plane on the Philippine island of Palawan. Bradley Peniston / Defense One

SecDef visits South China Sea island to bolster Philippines and check China

Austin also noted unmanned boats and other U.S.-funded tech upgrades.

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines—If the South China Sea is where Beijing is pushing most aggressively into allied territory, then WESCOM HQ is most directly in charge of pushing back. 

WESCOM—that is, the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines—sits on the island of Palawan, some 200 miles off the main Philippine archipelago. The island is washed by the West Philippine Sea, which is what Manila calls its slice of the South China Sea. China’s legal claim to the waters was rejected eight years ago by international courts, which has hardly slowed Beijing’s efforts to gain de facto control by turning reefs into airbases, harassing Philippine vessels, waging information warfare, and more.

Little surprise, then, that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin chose to come here on his fourth and final visit to the country, for a series of engagements that have seen him proclaim solidarity with Manila and criticism of Beijing.

From this camp of low buildings under rows of towering palm trees, WESCOM directs and supports the joint forces that keep tabs on and maintain a presence in the waters to the west. One young officer in the lobby said he’d spent seven months on one of the outposts that dot the sea.

The past three months have seen an uptick in Chinese aggressiveness, U.S. and Philippine officials said. 

“It's the same story over and over again,” Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro told reporters here on Tuesday. “They have been more aggressive in denying us access to our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. They have really placed a lot of these pseudo-military vessels disguised as Coast Guard vessels and maritime militia vessels in the areas of the West Philippine Sea. They have been very aggressive in their information operations against the Philippines.”

Beside him, Austin concurred. 

Story Continues Below Sponsor Message

Story Continues Below Sponsor Message

“The behavior of the PRC has been concerning. You've heard me say that a number of times. They've used dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims,” Austin said. “We condemn dangerous actions by the PRC against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea...Again, we'll continue to work with our allies and make sure that we're doing the right thing to promote a secure and open Indo-Pacific.”

Austin had flown an hour from Manila to see that cooperation in action at WESCOM HQ. He visited a brand-new intelligence-fusion center and received a demonstration of an uncrewed surface vessel, both purchased with U.S. security-assistance funds. 

The latter had arrived in May, part of a package that included Martec T-12 and T-38 USVs and the command-and-control gear to operate them. The U.S. also dispatched Marine Staff Sgt. Logan Hampton to help the Philippine Navy detachment learn to operate their new remote eyes at sea.

“This stuff right here is all Philippines-owned,” Hampton said, gesturing to a T-12 and two aerial drones in the yard. “We help them with the interoperability and integration, but this is theirs, so I can't tell them, like, ‘Hey, go do this, go do that.’ It's all about building relationships and working by, with, and through the partners, and it's their show.”

For Austin’s visit, the sailors put a T-12 up on blocks. The low, slender craft comes with autonomous collision-avoidance systems, carries either an optical camera or a sonar rig, has a range of about 39 miles, and can handle waves up to about three feet, Hampton said. 

“So it's more for, like, port security, shoals, and, like, small channels and stuff like that, but it is basically a littoral monitoring station. You could just set it out there and let it kind of feed and get that picture back to the commanders on the Philippine side and the U.S. side,” he said. “One of them is actually on the water in Oyster Bay here. That's conducting surveys now.”

But when Austin emerged from briefings, the Philippine sailors showed him how they were controlling a T-38 in Subic Bay, some 350 miles to the north.

Hampton said the U.S. military has also begun operating Martec USVs, and the two navies are learning about their new gear together.

“We're procuring them for them at the same time as us. And even some of that stuff on there”—he gestured to the T-12—“is a little bit ahead of what we have, just because of procurement and all that, but we are developing TTPs [techniques, tactics, and procedures] and everything else together,” he said. “We're doing AAR—after-action reviews—and we're just together, Phil and U.S. side, trying to develop this as quick as possible.”

In his press conference, Austin called the remote-controlled craft part of a larger effort to help better equip the Philippines military.

“The T-12 is one of several unmanned capabilities funded and delivered this year through U.S. security assistance,” he said, standing before a mural emblazoned Defenders and Patriots of the Last Frontier. “We expect to see many more platforms like this delivered with the $500 million in foreign military financing that I announced during my visit to the Philippines in July. This will help ensure that the Philippines has the capabilities that it needs to defend its rights and its sovereignty throughout its exclusive economic zone.”

China defense minister declines US meeting, breaking military talks

China defense minister declines US meeting, breaking military talks

China defense minister declines US meeting, breaking military talks

VIENTIANE, Laos — China’s defense minister will not meet with America’s secretary of defense this week, marking the first time in a year that Beijing has paused high-level military talks.

A senior American defense official, speaking with reporters before a summit of Asian defense officials in Laos, said that the Pentagon had offered to meet and that China declined, citing objections over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

The official doubted that reason was sincere and referenced China’s other rationales to stop talking in recent years: sanctions, the spy balloon crisis and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022.

China considers Taiwan, a democratic, self-governing island, part of its rightful territory and hasn’t ruled out using military force to occupy it. The U.S., meanwhile, is Taiwan’s oldest and largest provider of arms. This year alone it’s sent Taipei $1.2 billion in long-term security assistance and another $567 million in equipment shipped directly from American stocks.

The most recent foreign military sales to Taiwan came in late October, including radars worth up to $828 million and air defense systems worth up to $1.16 billion.

Meanwhile, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with American President Joe Biden this week in Peru, where they discussed security issues, including Taiwan.

After Pelosi’s trip two years ago, China cut military communications and grew more aggressive toward American forces operating in the region. It took a summit between Xi and Biden late last year for these intercepts to stop and the talks to resume.

Since then, the channels have opened and stayed so. Senior military and defense officials from each country have met, some multiple times. U.S. Defense Secretary Austin sat down with Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun for the first time this summer in Singapore during another conference.

Dong is China’s third defense minister — a largely ceremonial role — in as many years amid a larger anti-corruption purge of the People’s Liberation Army.

American officials acknowledge that the talks themselves accomplish little. Still, they argue it’s important for the world’s most powerful militaries to speak regularly. Closing these channels is a longtime tactic for China’s government to express frustration with the U.S.

The defense official said it wasn’t clear whether the choice not to meet this week signaled a wider pause in military talks, akin to the Pelosi visit. That said, at a press conference earlier this week, Biden did not mention any rift.

“On military communication, at multiple levels our leaders are now regularly talking to one another on a regular basis,” Biden said.

About Noah Robertson

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

팔라완 섬의 위치