For the longest time, we have maintained close defense and security cooperation mostly with the United States, courtesy of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and the Military Bases Agreement.
While the American military bases in the country have been shut down since 1991, the MDT is still valid, with an “ironclad guarantee” from Washington the US will come to our defense in case we’re attacked by a third party.
With China now claiming ownership over practically the whole of the South China Sea, including our 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, on the basis of a fictional “ten-dash line” devoid of any historical nor legal basis, the Philippines has had to expand defense cooperation with other countries to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Apart from Australia and Japan with whom we recently forged closer defense and security ties, we will soon have similar arrangements with other countries.
Canada has promised to give the Philippines free access to state-of-the-art satellites that will allow our Navy and Coast Guard to conduct surveillance, almost in real time, of vessels within our EEZ.
The satellites will allow authorities to detect and track even “dark vessels,” or ships that have switched off their location transmitters to avoid detection.
This will “dramatically enhance Philippine maritime domain awareness,” according to Canadian Ambassador David Hartman.
Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection Program is part of its 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy aimed at helping developing countries like the Philippines find illegal fishing vessels and protect fish stocks.
Aside from giving the Philippines access to its satellites, Canada has also dispatched another Halifax-class frigate to participate for the first time in the joint Philippines-US naval exercise “Sama-Sama” (All Together) from Oct. 2 to Oct. 13 in southern Luzon.
In addition, Canada will be sending an active-duty defense attaché to Manila starting this October as part of efforts to bolster its security partnership with the country.
We will benefit immensely from closer security cooperation with Canada since they now realize China is an “increasingly disruptive global power” and its aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea is “worrisome,” according to Hartman.
“I think it’s very clear how we stand. It’s unequivocal. The decision is final and binding,” he said, reiterating Canada’s support for the arbitral award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016.
We look forward to strengthened defense and security cooperation with Canada, as we believe this can assist us in protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the years ahead.