Foreign Affairs
US Ally Calls On China To Help Fight Radicals As Rift With US Deepens
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The president of the Philippines is calling on an old rival to help it fight off Islamic militants at sea.
President Rodrigo Duterte invited China to dispatch a fleet of ships to stop militants from attacking ships and kidnapping sailors off the coast of the southern Philippines, a Muslim-majority region teeming with Islamic militant groups, AFP reports.
“We would be glad if they have their presence there … just to patrol,” he said Tuesday, adding that coast guard cutters would probably suffice and that there was no need for warships.
Kidnappings at sea skyrocketed to a ten-year high last year, the International Maritime Bureau reported earlier this month, specifically emphasizing the dangers in waters near the Philippines.
“The kidnapping of crew from ocean-going merchant vessels in the Sulu Sea and their transfer to the southern Philippines represents a notable escalation in attacks,” the IMB explained.
Islamic militants in the southern Philippines are fighting to establish an independent Islamic caliphate. To finance their operations, the groups often engage in a variety of criminal activities.
Abu Sayaff, which has pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State, relies on kidnapping and ransom payments to generate funds. In the first half of last year, Abu Sayyaf secured $7.3 million in ransom payments.
The U.S. military has a small force stationed in the Philippines to assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines with its operations against the country’s Muslim militant groups, many of which have engaged in acts of terrorism.
That Duterte is looking to China for defense, rather than the U.S. — a long-time security guarantor — is noteworthy.
Infuriated by the criticisms of the previous U.S. administration, Duterte pivoted towards China. The president of the Philippines has repeatedly threatened to tear up past defense agreements, including the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and the two-decades-old Visiting Forces Agreement.
He has also called for the removal of U.S. troops from the Philippines on multiple occasions.
Duterte shut down base construction Sunday, claiming that U.S. military activities in the Philippines “put us all in danger.” He further commented that the U.S. is “looking for trouble.”
It is unclear how China will ultimately respond to Duterte’s invitation.
The Philippines has cooperative agreements with Indonesia and Malaysia on piracy, and there is a possibility that cooperation on this issue will be expanded to include Brunei and Singapore.
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