Philippines asks Ireland to join naval drills

The Philippines’ top Defense official has invited Ireland to join naval exercises, as Manila looks to expand its network of security partners amid lingering tensions in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Defense department said Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. met with Ireland’s Ambassador to the Philippines Emma Hickey at the military headquarters in Manila on Monday to discuss strengthening defense cooperation, including maritime security and peacekeeping cooperation.

“This effort is aligned with the department’s efforts in building its capabilities through establishing cross-regional linkages,” the agency said in a statement, adding that the invitation for joint maritime exercises reflects the “manifestation of both countries’ commitment to uphold a rules-based international order.”

The Southeast Asian nation has boosted efforts to expand its web of alliances as it pushes back against China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, organizing naval drills with allies as it turns to multinational cooperation to bolster maritime security.

The South China Sea has become a regional flashpoint as Beijing asserts sovereignty over nearly the entire waterway despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that voided its claims.

Manila and Beijing have repeatedly locked horns over maritime features that both nations claim in the resource-rich waters, leading to confrontations that involve the use of water cannons and repeated sideswipes by Chinese vessels against Philippine ships. – Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio