rarely announces such missions, known as 'FONOPS,' the tempo of such operations is believed to have increased in recent months, angering China. Such use has to adhere to international rules of order, 'So, anybody in the region that violates those, it's concerning,' he said. is committed to keeping the global commons open for all, whether at sea or in the air and, increasingly in space and cyberspace, the general said. 'That's our commitment to the region,' Goldfein said. David Goldfein said, 'There will be no let-up in our willingness or our ability to fly or sail where we need to and when we need to.' Speaking to reporters in Manila on Friday, Gen. Air Force's chief of staff says there are no plans to reduce freedom of operations in the South China Sea that China points to as the source of increased tensions in the region. US AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF VOWS 'NO LET-UP' IN FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION OPERATIONS Philippine military spokesman Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo also this month accused China of 'duplicity,' claiming the Chinese warships shut off their identification transponders while passing through Philippine waters to avoid radar detection. He said two Chinese research ships have also been operating in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. Lorenzana said that China did not ask for permission to send several warships through the Sibutu Strait at the southern tip of the Philippine archipelago on four occasions between February and July. Yet the 74-year-old leader is under increasing pressure from the Philippine public and within his own government to call China out on its increasingly aggressive maneuverings in the area.ĭefense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana asked Beijing this month to explain the activities of Chinese research vessels and warships in what the Philippines claims as its waters, and accused China of 'bullying.' Convention on the Law of the Sea.Ĭhina refused to participate in the arbitration case that Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, initiated, and has ignored the resulting ruling. Duterte, who has sought warmer ties with Beijing, has long been criticized by nationalists and left-wing groups for not immediately demanding Chinese compliance with the ruling from an international arbitration panel that declared China's claims to virtually the entire South China Sea invalid under the 1982 U.N.

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