A United States defense official said a collective security arrangement in the Indo-Pacific will be a better deterrence to China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
Under such a security treaty, “an attack on one is an attack on all,” the US official told a small group of journalists that included GMA News Online in a security briefing in Hawaii.
The official, who asked not to be named, noted Beijing’s growing military capability and larger fleets of ships, but an attack on Taiwan may not be imminent.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that China was “credibly preparing” to use military force to upend the balance of power in Asia – remarks that earned a sharp rebuke from Beijing.
The Pentagon chief said: “The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent.”
Beijing is “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” Hegseth said.
As this developed, the Philippines and Japan on Saturday held a maritime cooperative activity in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) arrived at Kagoshima Port on June 12 to take part in the second Trilateral Maritime Exercise with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG).
According to the PCG, the exercise reflects the shared commitment of the three nations to a rules-based international maritime order and collective capacity-building to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
A key feature of the exercise is a joint search and rescue (SAR) drill, designed to demonstrate operational readiness and foster seamless coordination among the participating coast guards.
The SAR activity will serve as a platform to address common maritime challenges, including disaster response and maritime law enforcement.
