Foreign Affairs Secretary Manalo Confirms Tenth Bilateral Consultations Mechanism This Month

After a month of tense confrontations in Escoda Shoal, senior Philippine and Chinese diplomats have agreed to resume their high-level talks in the Bilateral Consultations Mechanism on the South China Sea (BCM) this month. The two countries have alternatively hosted the consultation talks since 2017.  

Bilateral Consultations Mechanism

In a media interview, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo confirmed on September 4 that China will host the next round of Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM). The BCM is a highly consultative meeting between China and the Philippines aimed to discuss mutual concerns in the South China Sea and explore possible areas of cooperation. While Foreign Secretary Manalo did not provide further information about the topics of discussion in the meeting, he remains “hopeful” that both counties would discuss the recent Chinese Coast Guard ramming of the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua in Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.  

For his part, Philippine Navy Spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad reiterated that both the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are fully committed to supporting the government’s efforts in addressing ongoing issues in the area.  

“The Philippine Navy will support all the moves of the government to ensure that our territory will remain intact, our sovereignty will remain, and the welfare of the Philippines will be protected…If there’s any support that the Navy or the AFP will give for whatever actions other agencies of government will do, we are prepared to support,” Rear Admiral Trinidad said in a media interview. 

Representatives from the fields of diplomacy, national defense, natural resources, and coast guards of China and the Philippines attended the ninth BCM, held in Manila on July 2. From the meeting, the two countries have agreed to implement a provisional arrangement in rotation and resupply (RORE) missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. 

In August alone, Philippine personnel posted in the West Philippine Sea reported three separate incidents of ramming, collision, and harassment from Chinese Coast Guard ships near Escoda (Sabina) Shoal. After a series of incidents in Escoda Shoal, security analysts identified that the shoal has emerged as a new flashpoint in the disputed islands. Analysts note that China and the Philippines will likely highlight the recent incidents as a point of concern and will again reach another provisional agreement by October after the tenth BCM this month. 

Japan and Australia reaffirm support for the Philippine

Vocal allies Japan and Australia have expressed support for the Philippines over the recent coercive actions of China in areas of maritime concern. Defense and foreign ministers of Japan and Australia expressed serious concern over China’s “intensification” of dangerous and coercive actions towards the Philippines during their recent 2+2 ministerial meeting in Victoria, Australia on September 5. In a joint statement, the four ministers underscored the importance of freedom of navigation and the 2016 arbitral ruling. 

“[Japan and Australia] emphasized the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reaffirmed that the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award is final and legally binding on the parties to the dispute,” the statement read. 

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the two countries have expressed continued support to help the Philippine Coast Guard and enhance maritime cooperation. 

“We agreed to enhance maritime cooperation with the partners in the region, including jointly to provide support for the Philippines Coast Guard as well as more capacity-building assistance and maritime cooperative activities with the Philippines,” the joint statement said.