Canada to boost PH maritime security in Indo Pacific —Joly

Canada will help the Philippines defend its sovereign rights in the South China Sea and fight illegal fishing by providing satellite surveillance and other scientific data as part of its efforts to boost its presence in the Indo-Pacific region, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly  said on Friday.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Joly expressed Canada's support for the 2016 arbitration ruling that upheld Philippine sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone and invalidated China’s expansive territorial claims in the disputed waters.

Joly said China should respect the tribunal’s decision.

“We share along with the Philippines the importance of respecting international norms, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Seas, so, therefore, when it comes to the 2016 arbitral decision, which recognizes the Philippines’ sovereignty over its waters, we think this is a final and binding decision, and we think that all parties, including China, should respect it,” Joly said.

“There is a clear recognition that there is, indeed, heightened tensions in the region, particularly in the East and South China Sea and that upholding international norms is at the core of keeping the region stable and peaceful,” Canada’s top diplomat said.

Joly is visiting the Philippines and has held talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to expand bilateral ties. Both countries will mark the 75th year of their diplomatic relations next year.

“In the context of the Indo-Pacific strategy, the Philippines is clearly a priority country for Canada. You will see more support when it comes to security,” Joly said.

Canada, which has the longest coast in the world, has acquired a lot of expertise on maritime issues and would like to play a larger role in the Pacific, Joly said.

It launched its Indo-Pacific strategy in November.

“For a long time, Canada has been looking to our east, so Europe, and to our south to the U.S. and north to the Arctic but none enough to our west,” Joly said, “It is time that we recognize and assert ourselves as a Pacific nation and so that’s why I am here.”

Canada is deploying another frigate to the Indo-Pacific for regional peace and stability.

“We will have now three frigates in the region. After the U.S. and France, we will be the country, which has the most frigates in much more than the North Pacific and we will make sure that we stand by the freedom of navigation,” she said.

Canada is providing support to different countries in the region, including the Philippines, to help them better monitor their coastal waters and the high seas, spot and address problems like illegal fishing and gain scientific data about the extent of their territories and continental shelf, she said.

“We can provide you information on the program that we have called the `Dark Vessel Program.’ It’s about satellite imaging, radars and it’s about being able to determine the continental shelf by providing scientific evidence,” she said.

The Canadian program harnesses satellite technology to be able to locate and track ships illegally fishing anywhere even if they switch off their location transmitting devices to evade monitoring and surveillance.

The Philippine Coast Guard, which has been carrying out territorial patrols in the West Philippines Sea, has reported that many vessels, including Chinese Coast Guard ships and militia vessels, often turn off their location transmitting devices to avoid detention of their movements in the contested waters.

“That’s part of the conversations that I had today, how can we help and, of course, not only recognizing the maritime sovereignty of the Philippines but also in making sure that we are there to provide tools to the Philippines to make sure that this recognition is in practice…and that sovereignty is upheld,” Joly said.

In her talks with Marcos on maritime issues on Thursday, the president lauded Canada's presence in the South China Sea, citing the instance of HMCS Calgary, a Canadian warship, sailing near the Spratly Islands in March 2021 amid heightened tensions in the disputed waters, Malacanang said.

Joly also met her Philippine counterpart, Manalo.

“The Philippines and Canada agree on the need to promote the rule of law in the South China Sea, to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight, promote the peaceful resolution of disputes and preserve marine ecosystem, in accordance with the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Both Joly and Manalo highlighted the vibrant people-to-people ties between the two countries, through tourists, scholars and Filipinos in Canada, where close to a million people of Filipino descent work and live - the fourth biggest diaspora population in Canada.

They also exchanged views on a number of regional and global concerns, including developments in the Taiwan Straits, the Korean Peninsula and Ukraine, the DFA said.

Joly said Canada has sought the support of the Philippines in its effort to elevate its engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which the Philippines co-founded in 1967, to a strategic level.

Canada has also sought the support of the Philippines in its free-trade negotiations with the ASEAN, which encompasses a diverse region of more than 600 million people, Joly said.

“We think that having an approach by and for countries in the region make sure we work together on the stability of the region,” she said. “That’s why we want to invest in ASEAN.”—LDF/NB, GMA Integrated News