90% of Filipinos agree on EDCA expansion and joint maritime patrols

discussions delving on shared security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, and how both nations can address these challenges. The decision to restart joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea is not only seen as a positive development in helping the Philippines tighten its security strategy but an important step in securing our borders.

Filipinos are very patient people. We don’t want any conflict. But when push comes to shove, we will staunchly defend ourselves and those that we hold precious. Filipinos are convinced that our strategy of boosting defense ties and enhancing security cooperation with major allies like the United States will build up our capacity and capability to defend our territory and exercise our sovereign rights.

The headline news on our recent decision for the expansion of EDCA and maritime patrols with the United States has actually precipitated more inquiries from U.S. companies looking at how they can invest or, at the very least, expand their operations in the Philippines. The Philippines was at the front to an FBI laboratory for examination. Washington has not released technical details to date.

OVER the past few days, U.S. fighter jets shot down four strange flying objects that have crossed over American and Canadian airspaces. This is a ballooning phenomenon.

On Feb. 4, after days of tracking its movements, a U.S. jet fighter fired a single missile to bring down a 200foot balloon closely observed as it crossed the country. The Americans waited for the object to float out to sea off South Carolina before shooting it down to avoid any collateral damage on the ground.

China protested the action, claiming the balloon was owned by a civilian company and used for purely meteorological research. Beijing is asking for the debris of the balloon to be returned to it. Washington is not obliging. The Americans want to know more about the technology being used by China over U.S. airspace.

Recovered remnants of that balloon have been sent

On Feb. 10, U.S. jets downed another “cylindrical” flying object off the coast of Alaska. Here, too, we are not told how much of the downed object was recovered from the frozen sea. All that has been shared is the observation that the downed object did not seem to have any system of propulsion or control. The flying object has not been attributed to China.

A day later, Feb. 11, another U.S. jet shot down a “highaltitude airborne object” over Canada’s Yukon province, close to the border with Alaska. Apart from describing it as a hexagonal object, little has been made publicly known.

On Feb. 12, yet another strange flying object was tracked from over Montana and shot down over Lake Huron. Still, we are not told about the nature of the object nor its origin. Washington says the object was shot down because it posed a threat to commercial aircraft.

With very little detail and center of international news – that is, until the Chinese balloon incident came into the picture.

Clearly, the U.S. and the Philippines must also boost economic ties and increase trade and investment cooperation to strengthen the economic backbone, and therefore resilience, of our country. As I have mentioned on several occasions, the Philippines can become a stronger ally that can significantly contribute in advancing a more secure and prosperous region if it is also economically strong. At the end of the day, this is what we all want.

To reiterate, the EDCA is not directed at, or against, any country. Rather, this agreement with the United States is aimed at ramping up our defense capabilities, especially in light of the global security challenges – both traditional and nontraditional – that are emerging, and which all nations must take into account.

Let’s not also forget, the Philippines also has a defense agreement with Australia via the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) signed in

2007 and which took effect in September 2012 following its ratification in July of that same year. The agreement was very timely as it paved the way for the conduct of disaster relief assistance by the Australian Defense Force when Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the Philippines in November 2013.

President BBM’s recent visit to Tokyo is also expected to boost economic as well as security ties between the Philippines and Japan. No less than the President underscored this when he said prior to his departure that the bilateral visit is essential as it is “part of a larger foreign policy agenda to forge closer political ties, stronger defense and security cooperation” in addition to “lasting economic partnerships with major countries in the region amid a challenging global environment.”

In a recent brief written by our friend Gregory Poling with Andreyka Natalegawa and Danielle Fallin titled, “Building a U.S.-Japan-Philippines Triad” published at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ online site, the authors underscored Japan’s growing role in the Indo-Pacific, and why Tokyo and Washington should collaborate more closely in “engaging with other alliance partners, including the Philippines. Japan is uniquely suited to this role given its extensive and long-standing security partnership with the Philippines, creating a robust level of security cooperation between Tokyo and Manila.”

In fact, having security alliances that show we are part of a coalition of likeminded countries can serve as a deterrent and can promote peace in the Indo-Pacific region.

As usual, pseudo-nationalists are looking at it from a negative perspective, saying we may be sucked into the maelstrom if a conflict between the U.S. and China breaks out. In the first place, if there is a conflict in the region over Taiwan for example, the Philippines would not be able to remain a fence sitter for long because of its very strategic location as well as its proximity to Taiwan. We would feel the impact and would be involved in one way or another. In this global world, there is no such thing as an “island nation.”