Washington declared yesterday a “new era of security” in the Asia-Pacific region where the US has a strong network of alliances aimed at countering China’s growing military might and influence.

From Japan to Australia, the United States has been deepening defense ties across the region, ramping up joint military exercises and regularly deploying warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and West Philippine Sea, infuriating Beijing.

Underscoring the US commitment to the region, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday said the Asia-Pacific remained Washington’s “priority theater of operations,” noting “the United States can be secure only if Asia is.”

“We are all in and we’re not going anywhere,” Austin said.

In response, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the “stabilizing presence of the United States is crucial to the regional peace.”

Marcos has sought to deepen defense cooperation with the US as he stands up to Chinese actions in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely.

“China’s determining influence over the security situation and the economic evolution of this region is a permanent fact,” Marcos said in a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a major security forum attended by defense ministers from around the world.

The Philippines, a treaty ally of the United States, is a key focus of Washington’s efforts to build an arc of alliances across the region.

Given its position in the disputed area and proximity to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, Philippine support would be crucial for the United States in the event of any conflict.

The Philippines has increased to nine the number of military bases open to US troops under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, including two in the country’s far north less than 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Taiwan. EDCA allows US troops to rotate through and store defense equipment and supplies in those bases.

Austin insisted Saturday that Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines under their mutual defense treaty remained “ironclad,” as repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea have stoked fears of a wider conflict.

“At the same time, the stabilizing presence of the United States is crucial to regional peace. It’s never a choice. Both countries are important,” Austin said.

Not source of problem

The defense minister of New Zealand has expressed “deep concern” over the current situation in the West Philippine Sea.

In her bilateral meeting with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday, New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Anne Collins said her country is “deeply concerned about what is happening in the West Philippine Sea.”

Teodoro emphasized that “the Philippines is not the one causing the problem over there.”

Thus, Collins said, “New Zealand has to engage the Indo-Pacific region.”

Teodoro and Collins also discussed stronger defense cooperation, notably in the areas of engineering and logistics.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue, Teodoro also met with Lithuania’s Minister of National Defence, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, and discussed feature defense and military training on cybersecurity between both countries.

Teodoro ordered the country’s senior defense officials “to immediately explore areas of cooperation,” including the possible forging of a memorandum of understanding to develop Philippines-Lithuania defense cooperation.

Teodoro invited Kasčiūnas to visit the Philippines and asked that Lithuanian seafaring companies tap Filipino seafarers to be part of his country’s maritime industry.

Teodoro also met with Canada’s Minister of Defense Bill Blair, where they affirmed both countries’ “long, enduring friendly relations.”

During the discussion, Blair lauded the Philippines for forging defense and security alliances with countries such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

Teodoro, in response, noted that Canada also “has a major role to play in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The Philippines defense chief also met with his counterparts from Europe and the Asia-Pacific on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Defend sovereign rights

Meanwhile, Prof. Don McLain Gill of the De La Salle University Department of International Studies said the Philippines is on the right path in taking a strong stand to defend its sovereign rights over the WPS based on international law.

Gill’s comment followed the declaration by President Marcos that the Philippines would “respond accordingly” if a Filipino is killed in the maritime dispute.

“It is clear now that Manila is proactive enough to set the red line as well. We are not reactive anymore. This is done in consultation with the United States because it’s an alliance,” Gill said in a media interview during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

Gill noted that is a “clear” indication that the country is becoming more proactive in addressing China’s harassment in the Philippine territory.

“There is that realization in Manila that whatever is happening against the Filipino people must be taken account of, particularly by Beijing,” he said.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue, Marcos stressed that it would be “very close” to an “act of war” if by a willful act” a Filipino serviceman or citizen is killed in the WPS.

This also means that such a “red line” would invoke the country’s Mutual Defense Treaty with the US.

In his speech, Marcos underscored the “illegal coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions” that violate the sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea.