Breaking Defense:

While China was not officially a topic during the three-day conference in Honolulu on “emerging changes to warfare,” the people’s republic cast a very long shado.

“The Philippines is facing the threat every day in South China Sea. The threat is real for us, because every day our fishermen are pushed away from our Exclusive Economic Zone,” Lt. Gen. Romeo Browner, commanding general of the Philippine Army, told several hundred attendees. “Whenever we fly in our own territorial waters, we are challenged by the Chinese, challenged because they say we are in their territory, when in fact it is our territory.”

A key asset for the relatively small, if all too experienced, Philippine military in such cases to respond is the ability to use multilateral exercises for strategic messaging. The first two audiences for such displays are the Philippines’ own troops and then the broader community, whose support they need.

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