Philippines supports Australia’s nuclear submarine agreement to counter China

Manila-Philippines is supporting a new defense partnership between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in the hope of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. This is in contrast to some of the neighboring countries.

The alliance, known as AUKUS, expects Australia to acquire the technology to deploy nuclear submarines as part of an agreement aimed at responding to the growing influence of the Chinese administration.

“By strengthening the ability of foreign allies to exercise power, we need to restore and maintain balance, rather than destabilize it,” Filipino Foreign Minister Theodoro Lopesin said in a statement Tuesday. ..

Roksin’s remarks differ from the positions of Indonesia and Malaysia, which warned about nuclear submarines amid intensifying competition among superpowers in Southeast Asia.

Mr Roksin said the AUKUS move would not violate the 1995 treaty to keep nuclear weapons away from Southeast Asia in the absence of real nuclear weapons.

The South China Sea continues to be a source of tension, and the Philippine defense treaty partner, the United States and its Western allies, regularly carry out “freedom of navigation” operations in which the Chinese administration has responded angry.

The Chinese administration has been in conflict with other coastal nations such as the Philippines and Vietnam, which have accused the Chinese administration of harassing fishermen and energy activities, with its own claims of external interference with the waters. I’m thinking.

The Philippines is furious at the “threatening” presence of hundreds of Chinese “maritime militia” in its exclusive economic zone, and a short settlement period is almost past this year.

“Proximity creates response time brevity, which strengthens the military strength of ASEAN’s best friends and allies, allowing them to respond to threats to the region and challenge the status quo.” Roxin added, without identifying the threat.

“This requires strengthening Australia’s capabilities in addition to the capabilities of Australia’s major military allies to achieve that coordination.”

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