Allies Pledge Philippine Coordination Hub as Taiwan Cites Chinese Drills
The defence ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines have committed to establishing a Combined Coordination Center in the Philippines, according to a joint statement published on 10 November by Australia’s defence minister’s office. The statement records a meeting held in Cebu on 28 October.
The ministers also pledged to synchronise defence investments to help the Philippines defend its archipelago and to expand the scope and frequency of combined exercises. They voiced serious concern about the East China Sea and South China Sea and opposed unilateral actions, including by force or coercion. The statement gives no timetable or location, Taiwan Defence noted.
Separately, Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo told Reuters that China has conducted area denial drills in the Western Pacific, the Maritime Executive reported. Taiwan’s National Security Council said on 3 November that more than 100 Chinese ships were at sea; Beijing has not announced any exercise.
Neither development signals a new confrontation, but both show how closely regional planning and Chinese naval activity are now tracked.