Austin: ‘US Task Force Ayungin’ exists
SEE THING CONTENTION After Monday’s ramming of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, concerns over China’s sincerity in keeping regional tensions down shift back to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, site of the rusting Philippine military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III disclosed the existence of a “U.S. Task Force Ayungin” as they reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to support Manila in its West Philippine Sea disputes with Beijing.
During his visit to the Command and Control Fusion Center in Palawan province on Tuesday, Austin mentioned that he met with US service members who are part of this task force.
Before this, Austin also met with his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Jr. at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. They both signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement, a deal allowing the real-time sharing of highly classified intelligence and technology between Manila and Washington.
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China ‘monster ship’ spotted near Ayungin Shoal China, PH agreed on ‘new model’ for Ayungin management – Chinese spox“I also met with some American service members deployed to U.S. Task Force Ayungin, and I thanked them for their hard work on behalf of the American people and our alliances and partnerships in this region,” Austin said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
The task force name refers to the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal where BRP Sierra Madre is aground since 1999.
This task force was previously unheard of before Austin’s mention of it.“My impression is that it’s not new, but newly public,” said West Philippine Sea monitor and retired US Air Force colonel Ray Powell in a message to INQUIRER.net on Wednesday.
The resupply activity to the BRP Sierra Madre has become one of the flashpoints of tensions between Manila and Beijing.
The June 17 rotation and resupply mission (Rore) in Ayungin Shoal saw what the Philippine military deemed as “looting” of its disassembled high-powered guns and even caused the thumb amputation of one of its naval personnel.
Such actions are based on Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award issued in July 2016.
This landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, whose lagoon the latter now has effective control of.
That incident then prompted a bilateral consultation mechanism between Manila and Beijing, while Washington renewed its offer to escort the ships of its longtime treaty ally during Rore.
US Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo Jr. even said that Washington’s offer of escorting Manila’s ships is “an entirely reasonable option” with the Mutual Defense Treaty that calls for each other’s defense in case of an armed attack.
However, Manila stood firm in not letting Washington join its Rore in Ayungin Shoal. Security expert Chester Cabalza suggested that this may have prompted the revelation of a “U.S. Task Force Ayungin.”
“Even if there is a US Task Force Ayungin, perhaps this is just a contingency measure,” Cabalza, president and founder of Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, told INQUIRER.net on Wednesday.
“But still, Manila should be firm in its decision to be independent in resolving its issues with Beijing to lessen the tension and resolve maritime differences amicably by the parties involved in the overlapping claims,” he continued.
READ: US reaffirms ‘ironclad’ commitment to PH after West Philippine Sea incident
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