US reaffirms Philippines alliance

The recent visit of a senior American naval officer to Manila has added a new dimension to the tensions between the Philippines and China over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Chief of Naval Operations for the US Navy, Admiral Jonathan Greenert came with a message that, in effect, if push came to shove the US would support the Philippines in opposition to what the Government in Manila has repeatedly termed China’s aggressive behaviour.

Admiral Greenert promised the United States would work with the Philippines and other allies to find a solution that “maintained freedom of navigation” in the area.

This brought an anguished response from Beijing, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying saying the US should not be taking sides in a dispute in which it was not involved and which should be settled “through bilateral negotiations and consultation between countries directly concerned”.

“The US-Philippine alliance, which is a bilateral arrangement, should not harm the interests of a third party,” Hua said.

This would sound reasonable enough if it were not for the fact that China’s “negotiation and consultation” begins and ends with a refusal to recognise any claim by Manila to the islands and therefore the fishing zones and possible oil fields around them.

China bases its case on imperial times, when the Middle Kingdom dominated the region. Its claims in the South and East China seas is seen by its nervous neighbours as the first moves in an attempt to wind back the clock.

While a number of nations, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam among them, are involved in the disputes. Japan and the Philippines have taken the strongest stand, the latter because it feels it has a special relationship with the US that will give China pause.

This irritation was almost certainly the reason for China’s initial miniscule response to aid for the Philippines following last year’s the Cyclone Yolanda disaster, something which brought international criticism before Beijing increased its package.

It is no wonder that most countries in South-East Asia want the US to remain heavily involved in the region as a counterbalance against their increasingly powerful neighbour – and why Admiral Greenert was in the region to assure them the US is still on the case.