by Luke Allen
Military Political Analyst
Makati, Manila
lukeallenmanila@journalist.com
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru, the Philippines Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, united in purpose, met on May 2 in Hawaii. This event, the second-ever meeting of the defense leaders of these four nations, underscores their significant collaboration and shared vision for a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. This meeting, a testament to our collective strength, follows China’s recent escalation of intimidation tactics.
The Ministers and Secretaries, deeply concerned about China and the situation in the East and South China Seas, voiced their strong objection to the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the blocking and ramming of both Philippine Coast Guard and civilian vessels in the South China Sea. They reiterated their serious concern over the PRC’s repeated obstruction of Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and the disruption of supply lines to Second Thomas Shoal, which constitute dangerous and destabilizing conduct. The importance of upholding freedoms of navigation and overflight, and respect for international law, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), was emphatically underscored.
They called the PRC to abide by the final and legally binding 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award, which ruled in favor of the Philippines and invalidated China’s ‘nine-dash line’ claim. They resolved to work together to support states exercising their rights and freedoms in the South China Sea, as enshrined in the UNCLOS and affirmed by the Arbitral Tribunal, to ensure a rules-based order in the region.
The leaders, resolute in their commitment to strengthen cooperation in support of regional security and stability, emphasized that multilateral defense cooperation among the four countries is growing stronger than ever. They welcomed progress in coordination at all levels and discussed opportunities to further advance defense cooperation, including through continued maritime cooperation in the South China Sea, enhanced procedures to enable coordination and information sharing arrangements, as well as strengthening capacity building. This unwavering commitment is a testament to our shared determination to address the security concerns in the region.