Commentary: The Russian navy is coming to visit

From the Business Mirror (Apr 15): The Russian navy is coming to visit

THE second phase of the Indonesian-sponsored multinational naval activity—Exercise Komodo —is taking place off the coast of West Sumatra. Warships from 35 countries, including all the major naval powers, are now in Indonesia. Most nations are sending their ships; others are participating in the talks.

Presumably, representatives of the Philippine navy are also in the city of Padang, although there does not seem to be any official announcement of that fact. There is also no indication that any Philippine warship is involved.

Earlier this year in January, Indonesia also hosted the important Western Pacific Naval Symposium. The WPNS—founded in 1988—is a critical opportunity for member-nations to discuss and solve potential problems. In 2014 an agreement was reached, called the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, which the Philippines also signed.

The United States and the Philippines have been conducting joint exercises since the beginning of the month. It was announced this past week that the US and the Philippine navy were talking about joint sea patrols in the disputed South China Sea areas.

Both governments have gone out of their way to keep the joint military exercise low key with a “business as usual” attitude, considering these have taken place for years. Certainly, no one wants to raise tensions in the area.

But neither government has mentioned the following.

In 2014 Russia and China conducted a joint naval exercise. Nothing unusual about that, considering the closer economic ties those two nations have formed in the last years. However, the exercises took place near Shanghai, in the sea corridor between Japan and the disputed islands that both Japan and China claim as theirs.

The Russian deputy defense minister, Anatoly Antonov, announced in June 2015 that Russia and China would conduct a joint naval exercise in May 2016. And where would the exercise take place? You guessed it—the South China Sea.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if, after this exercise, China invited its Russian partner to freely use any of its new artificial islands in the disputed territory any time it wanted to?

What does Russia think of the US and its role in the region? When the Russia/China 2016 naval exercise was announced, Antonov said the US is contaminating the Asia-Pacific region with some of the same “color revolutions” it brought to the Middle East. “We are concerned by US policies in the region, especially since every day it becomes increasingly focused on a systemic containment of Russia and China.”

The comments, as well as the announcement of the naval exercises, took place at the 15th International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue or Asia Security Summit, which was held in Singapore.

The month of May is certainly going to be exciting for the Philippines.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/the-russian-navy-is-coming-to-visit/