Philippines to tap US help if troops ‘on verge of dying’ in West PH Sea 

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Philippines will only consider asking the help of its treaty-ally, the United States, in its resupply missions to the West Philippine Sea when Filipino personnel are on the “verge of dying,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said on Thursday, August 29.

“When our troops are already hungry, they don’t have any supplies anymore because our resupply mission have been blocked and they are on the verge of dying, then that’s the time we are going to seek the help of the United States,” Brawner said in a press conference at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) following this year’s Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) meeting.

Brawner had earlier said that the Philippines is not yet keen on asking help from the US in conducting resupply missions to outposts in the West Philippine Sea, or parts of the South China Sea that includes the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

This is not a new position. Philippine security and defense officials have long insisted that its maritime forces still have a range of options to ensure the sustenance of troops in its West Philippine Sea outposts.

Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom) chief Admiral Samuel Paparo, who is in the Philippines for the meeting, had said days prior that it was an “entirely reasonable option within our Mutual Defense Treaty” to escort Philippine missions.

Brawner added on Thursday: “We still have a lot of options, if you look at the recent mission of the [Philippine Coast Guard], for instance…they were blocked several times but they finally brought supplies using their helicopter.”

Brawner was referring to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)’s attempt on Monday, August 26, to bring supplies to the BRP Teresa Magbanua, which has been on an “extended patrol” in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal since April 2024, via two of its 44-meter vessels.

The August 26 mission was the latest in a string of China Coast Guard and Chinese military harassment of Philippine missions to the West Philippine Sea. In the past two weeks alone, these Philippine missions, whether by sea or air, were met with a range of China’s disruptions — from the use of flares in the air, water cannons at sea, to outright ship collisions.

The UA, as a treaty-ally of the Philippines, is bound to come to its defense in the event of an armed attack, according to the Mutual Defense Treaty. But China’s actions in those waters have always stopped short of an armed or military attack — Beijing is known for deploying “gray zone” tactics, or what Manila has dubbed “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive” actions at sea.

Amid calls to define or expand the meaning of an armed attack, both Paparo and Brawner were quick to say that it will be up to the two counties’ political leaders to define what constitutes an “armed attack” and what would, in effect, trigger mutual defense obligations.

During US Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s visit to China on August 28, Beijing had warned the US that it should not “use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor should it support or condone the Philippines’ actions of infringement.” — Rappler.com