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The war on Tuesday said it was too early to determine whether this was due to an arrangement to de-escalate conflicts in the South China Sea, but the number of Chinese boats in the Philippines-claimed areas in the South China Sea has decreased.  ,
The government reported 104 Taiwanese ships in Manila’s waterways from July 9 to 15 compared with 153 before both states convened the , Bilateral Consultative Mechanism, or , BCM, on July 2, said Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, military spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
Manila refers to the lands in its exclusive economic zone known as the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
” There was a lower. Whether this is because of the BCM, it also remains to be seen”, Trinidad told investigators.
Officials have not yet provided information on the South China Sea “hotline” established by the most recent BCM to solve problems in the area as they arise. However, similar partnerships in the past were not successful in resolving problems.
Following a tense standoff between Filipino troops and China Coast Guard personnel at Second Thomas ( Ayungin ) Shoal on June 17, when a Philippine sailor lost a finger, Manila and Beijing agreed to ease tensions in the South China Sea.
Filipino martial officials claimed China Coast Guard officers, armed with lances and weapons, punctured Philippine vessels and seized handguns during the , event.
Trinidad claimed it was too early to determine whether the alleged BCM would cause the alleged Chinese harassment in the South Sea may be stopped because the Spanish military had not yet sent a second mission there.  ,
” We may know about this when we conduct the second RoRe]rotation and reprovisioning]. But for now, our basis for our assessment is the number of]Chinese ] ships that we have monitored”, Trinidad said.  ,
” We will continue to protect the federal territories, particularly the West Philippine Sea, from the activities of the Chinese communist party’s agents of hostility,” he said.
Beijing has defended its steps, insisting on its sovereignty over almost the entire , South China Sea.
Military rulers meet
Also on Tuesday, Philippine military commander Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Brown Jr., met to discuss ways to improve cooperation between the two allies and increase their combined annual battle games. Specific details of the closed-door conversations were never made available.
Our cooperation with the United States is still a pillar of our national security, according to Brawner, adding that both nations were working to “bolster our defence capabilities and maintain balance of the region.”
The United States and the Philippines are bound by a 1951 , Mutual Defense Treaty, which calls on each to come to the other’s support in times of conflict or third-party hostility.  ,  ,
