Ched Rick Gatchalian

President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. together with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signs the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Philippines and Australia at Malacañang Palace on Friday, September 08, 2023. Photo by Yummie Dingding/ PPA POOL/FILE PHOTO

 

Article (news)

PH, Australia deepen security ties as China expands assertiveness beyond South China Sea

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176215914236909082023-ph_australia-ink-strategic-partnership-deal.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. together with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signs the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Philippines and Australia at Malacañang Palace on Friday, September 08, 2023. Photo by Yummie Dingding/ PPA POOL/FILE PHOTO   "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. together with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signs the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Philippines and Australia at Malacañang Palace on Friday, September 08, 2023. <em>Photo by Yummie Dingding/ PPA POOL/FILE PHOTO   </em></span></span></span></div><p>CANBERRA, Australia – Australia and the Philippines are moving toward a formal Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) that officials say will mark a significant step in strengthening security ties between the two countries amid China’s rising assertiveness across the Indo-Pacific.</p><p>During an on-background discussion with a group of journalists from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, including from ABS-CBN News, two senior Australian government officials said the proposed pact would give Manila and Canberra greater flexibility to conduct trainings, exchanges and joint operations, without signaling a permanent Australian military presence.</p><p>The journalists were selected to participate in the inaugural Southeast Asia Maritime Media Visits Project (SEAMMVP) in Canberra from October 27 to 31.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>-- Australia’s defense cooperation agreement with the Philippines --</strong></div><p>Australia’s defense cooperation with the Philippines is growing, marked by recent infrastructure initiatives and a future Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).</p><p>Last August, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles made key moves in the creation of a DCA between both countries while Canberra is pursuing eight infrastructure projects in five locations to enhance Manila’s maritime awareness and sovereign rights.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/31/ph-us-australia-new-zealand-hold-joint-naval-drills-in-west-philippine-sea-1723">PH, US, Australia, New Zealand hold joint naval drills in West Philippine Sea</a></div><p>“We want to support the Philippines to better monitor its own economic zone and exercise its sovereignty,” one official told the participants. “We’re looking at where modest infrastructure investments can make a real difference.”</p><p>The projects remain in the early stages, following a scoping visit last April and May, according to the official.</p><p>“We’ve agreed on the projects, but details like cost and timelines are still being finalized,” the official explained. “It represents a shift from dialogue and training to tangible cooperation on the ground.”</p><p>The official emphasized that the agreement is meant to “help the Philippines strengthen its own defense capability,” and not to “position Australian forces forward.”</p><p>“So, will we see more deployments of equipment or forces for this following this project? I&#x27;m wondering… I don&#x27;t think we know for sure yet whether we will. I think part of our hope is that we will continue to work closely with the Philippines,” he noted.</p><p>“We do already have an arrangement. We call it [the] Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Program, where we have particularly trainers coming in, doing work, training Philippine military personnel, then coming back out again. We expect those sorts of rotational deployments of training and troops to continue.</p><p>&quot;Whether there&#x27;ll be more people coming in because of the infrastructure, I can&#x27;t say for certain… Maybe what I can say is it&#x27;s not our intent in building it—that it&#x27;s about giving Australia a force presence forward, or putting people in there. It&#x27;s about helping the Philippines to put their own people,” he further said.</p><p>The planned DCA is also a step toward a more formal defense relationship.</p><p>“From our point of view, the defense cooperation agreement is that sort of, with most of the countries in Southeast Asia Australia has a defense cooperation agreement where we try to work together, the step up to a more formal legal agreement [which] gives us more rights for our militaries in one another&#x27;s countries. So, I think, I did say before, we weren&#x27;t intending to build infrastructure to support putting more Australian troops in there,” the official said.</p><p>“But the agreement between our two countries will allow more Australian troops to come in should we want to. It should also work the same way as well and give the right for Philippines troops to come into Australia as well,” he stressed.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>-- &#x27;Deteriorating strategic environment&#x27; --</strong></div><p>The two government officials said the region’s security environment is “deteriorating,” prompting Australia to ramp up its defense diplomacy and maritime partnerships across Southeast Asia.</p><p>“Our strategic environment is deteriorating and defense needs to respond to that—Australia needs to respond to that,” one senior official said. “For defense, one of the ways we are responding is by increasing our engagements and diplomacy in Southeast Asia.”</p><p>Australia’s security and economy are deeply tied to maritime trade.</p><p>“We know that Australia is a trading nation. Most of our trade depends on sea passage,” the official noted. “So, upholding the global rules-based order that allows free movement of trade and goods around the world, particularly in the South China Sea, is important to us as a nation.”</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/16/show-of-force-philippines-us-flex-naval-might-near-chinese-ships-1817">Show of force: Philippines, US flex naval might near Chinese ships</a></div><p>The official shared that Australia’s National Defense Strategy prioritizes deeper defense diplomacy and maritime partnerships with ASEAN members.</p><p>“We’re active contributors to the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), particularly through expert working groups where militaries engage to discuss challenges, build cooperation, and assist one another in responding to shared threats—including humanitarian and disaster relief operations,” he explained.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>-- Beijing’s aggressive behavior expanding beyond South China Sea --</strong></div><p>The second official, who handles China policy within the defense establishment, expressed concern over China’s increasingly assertive behavior and expanding military buildup, warning that Beijing’s activities are now extending beyond the South China Sea and into the Pacific and Indian Oceans.</p><p>“Over the last decade, we’ve seen a rapid expansion in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) capabilities and the deployment of those capabilities not just across China’s maritime borders, but beyond them—globally,” the official said.</p><p>He noted that Australian defense forces have observed an increased frequency of encounters with Chinese military assets—most of which still remain professional.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="http://Show of force: Philippines, US flex naval might near Chinese ships">Marcos flags &#x27;dangerous maneuvers, coercive use of tools&#x27; in South China Sea</a></div><p>“Unfortunately, on some occasions, the Australian Defense Force has experienced unsafe PLA behavior,” the official said, referring to an incident last October 19 when a Chinese fighter jet released flares close to an Australian surveillance plane in the South China Sea.</p><p>Canberra has publicly condemned Beijing’s actions.</p><p>“We don’t want to create tension over this; we’re just calling for all militaries to act safely and professionally to prevent accidents that could escalate further,” the official added.</p><p>Beyond the South China Sea, Chinese military movements have reached new areas of concern.</p><p>“We’re now seeing PLA assets operating in the southwest Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and even near and around Australia,” the Australian government official noted.</p><p>“Earlier this year, a Chinese naval task group conducted a full circle around the Australian continent and carried out live-fire drills between Australia and New Zealand. That’s a significant shift in behavior,” he continued.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>-- More reclamation in the South China Sea ‘very possible’ --</strong></div><p>Asked whether Beijing might resume large-scale land reclamation in the South China Sea, the official said it is “very possible.”</p><p>“It would be very concerning if there’s further attempts by China to reclaim land in the South China Sea,” he said.</p><p>He went on: “It would be another violation of UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] and international norms. We’ve seen similar behavior in the East and Yellow Seas, where China has placed large floating structures between Korea and Japan. Doing the same in the South China Sea would be destabilizing.”</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/11/ph-rejects-china-plan-to-establish-nature-reserve-at-scarborough-1201">Philippines protests China nature reserve plan for Scarborough Shoal</a></div><p>The official added that while a declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) remains possible, it may not be necessary from Beijing’s perspective.</p><p>“China already feels it has effective control over large parts of these territories. Declaring an ADIZ might only invite more international backlash—they can simply continue asserting control in practice without formalizing it,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>-- Code of Conduct in the South China Sea --</strong></div><p>Both officials acknowledged that the ongoing negotiations for a South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC) could help stabilize the region—if implemented in good faith.</p><p>“We welcome processes like the Code of Conduct if they lead to more stable outcomes,” one official said. “However, we’d be concerned if a new agreement erodes rights already guaranteed under international law or UNCLOS.”</p><p>There is also concern that Beijing could use the COC process as a “delaying tactic.”</p><p>“We’d be worried if it becomes a delaying tactic—prolonging negotiations while China continues to act assertively and expand its control on the ground,” the second official noted.</p><p>The COC aims to set rules to prevent the intensifying tensions in the South China Sea, which China claims in its entirety, from spinning out of control and worsening into a major armed conflict.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/1/marcos-jr-hopes-task-force-philippines-will-lower-tensions-in-west-ph-sea-1842">Marcos Jr. hopes &#x27;Task Force Philippines&#x27; will &#x27;lower tensions&#x27; in West PH Sea</a></div><p>Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo earlier this year said that the ASEAN and China are “politically committed” to having a COC in the South China Sea by 2026, when the Philippines hosts the ASEAN Summit.</p><p>The ASEAN and China pledged in 2002 to create a COC. The negotiations, however, have suffered delays and have dragged on for more than a decade.</p><p>Four ASEAN member states—the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei—and Taiwan are involved in the territorial disputes.</p><p>In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated China’s expansive nine-dash line claims—now ten-dash line—in the South China Sea.</p><p>It reaffirmed that the Philippines is entitled to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) measured from its archipelagic baselines, in accordance with UNCLOS.</p><p>However, Beijing does not recognize the decision.</p><div> </div><div><strong>-- Australia’s submarine acquisition --</strong></div><p>The officials emphasized that Australia’s security policies, including plans to acquire eight nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS program with the United States and the United Kingdom, are driven by the rapid military buildup taking place in China.</p><p>“When you look at the scale of China’s acquisitions over the last 10 to 20 years, that’s what’s shifting the regional balance of power,” one official said. “It’s this rapid expansion of Chinese military capability that’s fueling regional insecurity.”</p><p>While insisting that Canberra does not seek confrontation, the official said Australia must respond to the changing strategic environment.</p><p>“We respect every nation’s right to build its own defense forces. But Australia is making its own choices in response to what we’re seeing in the region,” the official added.</p>

<p>Australia and the Philippines are moving toward a formal Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) that officials say will mark a significant step in strengthening security ties between the two countries amid China’s rising assertiveness across the Indo-Pacific.</p>

Australia and the Philippines are moving toward a formal Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) that officials say will mark a significant step in strengthening security ties between the two countries amid China’s rising assertiveness across the Indo-Pacific.