US to ‘fly, sail operate everywhere international laws allow’ despite China warning
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2019 11:28:35 +0000
THE United States will “fly, sail and operate everywhere international law allows,” a US official said on Friday, despite a warning from China to “non-regional forces” to refrain from “stirring up trouble” within the disputed South China Sea.
Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, commander of the Japan-based US 3rd Marine Expeditionary Forces, issued the statement at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City during closing ceremonies of the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises between the Philippine Navy and Washington’s USS Wasp that were held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The military drills between Filipino and American troops this year were conducted near the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, one of the disputed territories in the South China Sea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang’s warning came after his comment was sought about the recent exercises.
Smith said, “We brought everything we could bring because our partnership with the Philippines is so good. This is a partnership and a mutually respectful, beneficial partnership so I [brought] everything I can because I get so much out of this training.”
Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, commander of the military’s Southern Luzon Command and the Balikatan exercise director for the Philippines, stressed that the presence of US forces in the West Philippine Sea was part of the yearly exercises.
Gapay said that for Balikatan 2019, there was an “increase” when it came to the participation of several nations, noting that even personnel and equipment rose by 30 percent and six percent respectively.
“The presence is not really to agitate or anything else but purely for training so nobody should be alarmed of the presence of all those forces during the Balikatan,” Gapay said in the same briefing with Smith.
For the first time this year, Washington included its F-35B Lightning II plane on board the USS Wasp.
Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, said Manila has always been “respectful” when it came to actions coming from foreign nations.
“As I have said, we are all undertaking respective independent actions, we have a good rapport here,” Madrigal told reporters in a separate interview.
“Of course, what we want is continued freedom of navigation within the areas we are covering,” Madrigal said. DEMPSEY REYES
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