By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The United States has deployed a rotating fleet of four Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters to the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), significantly expanding the two countries’ maritime security operations as tensions continue to simmer in the South China Sea.
The deployment was disclosed Monday by US Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, who said the American vessels are working alongside the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to patrol and secure Philippine waters.
“We are backing up those investments with concrete, visible support, including the rotational deployment of four Fast Response Cutters to actively partner with the Philippine Coast Guard in patrolling and securing its Exclusive Economic Zone,” Colby said during a keynote address at a Stratbase Institute event in Manila.
He said the expanded US presence was designed to give both countries greater capacity to deter aggression and respond to security threats at sea.
“By strengthening our joint posture, we are ensuring that both our nations possess the hard capabilities required to deter aggression,” Colby said.
The announcement comes as Manila and Washington mark the 75th anniversary of the Mutual Defense Treaty, which commits both countries to assist each other in the event of an armed attack.
Colby described the cutter deployment as part of what he called a “historic modernization” of the longstanding US-Philippine alliance.
He also praised the Philippines for taking a more active role in strengthening its own defense capabilities, saying Manila under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. had emerged as a “model ally.”
“This is not a one-sided partnership,” Colby said, stressing that the Philippines is taking greater responsibility for its own defense while investing in the modernization of its armed forces and coast guard.
The four cutters are part of the US Coast Guard’s Sentinel-class fleet, designed for rapid-response missions, maritime security, law enforcement and other operations requiring sustained presence at sea.
Colby’s remarks went beyond the Philippines’ maritime security situation, laying out Washington’s broader expectations for its allies under President Donald Trump.
He said the United States wants partners to strengthen their own military capabilities and cooperate more closely with one another—but warned against security arrangements intended to sideline Washington.
“Allies should integrate and be complementary with America’s — not vainly and futilely seek to exclude or supplant us,” Colby said.
He emphasized that Washington seeks “partnerships, not dependencies,” while acknowledging that countries will continue developing relationships with multiple nations.
But Colby cautioned against what he described as the “delusion” of middle-power alliances designed specifically to exclude the United States.
He also questioned the value of new multilateral maritime security arrangements that generate political headlines without producing tangible military capabilities.
For Washington, he said, the real measure of cooperation should be whether alliances result in “more ships in the water,” larger stocks of critical munitions and genuine interoperability among participating forces.
“We are looking for partners, not protectorates,” Colby said.
Colby’s Manila visit also underscored the Philippines’ increasingly diversified defense relationships.
While the United States remains the country’s principal security partner, the Marcos administration has expanded military and maritime cooperation with other US allies and partners.
The Philippines has entered into four new visiting forces agreements and opened formal discussions with two other countries as Manila seeks to broaden its strategic options amid heightened regional security concerns.
Colby met Marcos at Malacañan Palace on Monday during his first official Southeast Asian tour as US undersecretary for policy. After Manila, he is scheduled to visit Jakarta, Bangkok and Phnom Penh.
His visit comes as the Philippines and the United States confront a rapidly changing regional security environment, with maritime disputes and competing military interests continuing to reshape the strategic landscape of the Indo-Pacific.
The deployment of four US cutters into the Philippine EEZ sends a clear operational message: Washington is putting more assets at sea alongside Manila, while expecting the Philippines to carry a greater share of the burden for defending its own sovereign interests.
For Manila, the challenge will be to turn that expanded partnership into sustained maritime capability without surrendering the strategic independence it is simultaneously seeking to build.
ia/xf
