Military must evolve fast – Gibo

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) must evolve fast and “try to focus on actual soldiering” because of threats to a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said on Friday.

The defense chief did not specify the threats, but his comments were made against the backdrop of China’s growing belligerence in asserting its illegal claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“We will be increasing the pressure continuously for them to evolve, as soon as possible, into a multi-threat, multi-theater operating armed force,” he said at the end of the annual Balikatan war games.

“No amount of malign, or for lack of a better term, perverse attempts to subvert our goal for a free and open Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order will stop our shared advance towards upholding these internationally accepted norms, come what may,” Teodoro said, using the US preferred term for the Asia-Pacific the region.

The 39th Balikatan drills, involving around 11,000 US, 5,000 Filipino and 100 Australian troops, began on April 22 and were concentrated in the northern and western parts of the Philippines, near the potential flashpoints of the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The area has seen increased confrontations between Chinese and Filipino vessels, particularly around Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, as well as stepped-up Chinese air and naval activity around nearby self-ruled Taiwan.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague that Beijing’s assertion has no legal basis.

China deploys hundreds of coast guard, navy and other vessels to patrol waters way beyond its territorial seas.

Last month China’s coast guard on separate occasions blasted with powerful water cannons Philippine vessels delivering food and provisions to troops on BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal and to fishermen in Panatag Shoal.

The attacks caused damage and injuries and sparked condemnation from the international community.

On Friday, Lieutenant General Michael Cederholm,