By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter
THE Philippines should invite a British Navy carrier group for a joint sail and combined maritime exercises in the South China Sea to reinforce international order in the contested waters following recent flare-ups between Manila and Beijing, security analysts said at the weekend.
“Inviting the British carrier group is not an option but is a must as the two nations are eyeing a military pact,” Chester B. Cabalza, founding president at Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“The UK is known to the world as a leading bearer of international, rules-based order, and it is just fitting for London and Manila to conduct a joint sail and flight for the sake of freedom of navigation and overflight,” he added.
The UK Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales and its accompanying warships have embarked on an eight-month deployment across parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in an effort to uphold international order, according to a Royal Navy statement.
The carrier group will conduct sea and air exercises with regional allies along its mission path, spanning the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Japan, and Australia.
The British carrier group plans on hanging around the Indo-Pacific region, though naval engagements with the Philippines remain uncertain, UK Defense Attache to the Philippines Bea Walcott said last month.
“The Philippines should not hesitate to invite the British Carrier Strike Group for joint sail and maritime exercises,” Julio S. Amador III, chief executive officer at Manila-based geopolitical risk firm Amador Research Services, said in a Viber message.
“As a like-minded state which has expressed support to the Philippines’ stance on the importance of international law in managing disputes in the South China Sea, the UK has been a reliable security partner,” he added.
Manila has sought broader international support for its maritime claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing asserts sovereignty over based on a 1940s map. A 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed tribunal deemed China’s claim baseless under international law.
The Southeast Asian nation is seeking closer ties with countries that advocate for a rules-based order and recognize international law as Beijing maintains its claims over the waterway by deploying an armada of ships and sustaining a presence on artificial islands.
Inviting the British carrier group for joint maritime drills would signal strengthened multinational resistance to China’s actions in the South China Sea, Rocio Salle Gatdula, a defense economist currently taking up security studies at Georgetown University, said in a Facebook chat.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing recently escalated following an encounter between their naval vessels near the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal and after Chinese state media reported Beijing had asserted control over a disputed reef close to a Philippine military outpost.
“China would most likely perceive this joint sail as a challenge to its territorial claims and a threat to its regional influence,” said Ms. Gatdula. “It may induce Beijing to deploy naval assets to monitor or disrupt exercises.”
London’s strategic posturing in the Indo-Pacific may face limitations, she added, citing its inability for sustained deployments in the region. “However, the UK positions its carrier deployments as a commitment to the rules-based international order, emphasizing freedom of navigation and deterring coercion.”
