On November 19, as he spent what was likely his last day in the Philippines as United States defense secretary, retired general Lloyd Austin, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), made public a little-known unit in Palawan: US Task Force Ayungin.
“I visited the Command and Control Fusion Center in Palawan today. I also met with some American service members deployed to U.S. Task Force Ayungin, and I thanked them for their hard work on behalf of the American people and our alliances and partnerships in this region,” said Austin in his post.
Austin was in the Philippines for two days packed with activities — from the signing of an agreement that paves the way for faster intelligence and information sharing between Manila and Washington DC, the inauguration of the Combined Coordination Center in Camp Aguinaldo, a call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and a visit to the unified Philippine military command at the forefront in the defense of the West Philippine Sea.
But what exactly is US Task Force Ayungin and what is their function in Western Command (Wescom)?
“US troops in Palawan provide technical assistance through the information-sharing group within the Command and Control Fusion Center in Western Command. This support enhances our capability in maritime domain awareness, a critical task that aids in planning and implementing programs and activities to protect our interests in the West Philippine Sea,” explained AFP Public Affairs Office chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad in a message to reporters late evening Wednesday, November 20.
In a statement to the Philippine press, US embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said the Task Force “enhances U.S.-Philippine Alliance coordination and interoperability by enabling U.S. forces to support Armed Forces of the Philippines activities in the South China Sea.”
“This initiative aligns with multiple lines of cooperation between U.S. and Philippine forces, including the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) process and the Bantay Dagat framework, in addition to our long-standing shared efforts to address regional challenges, foster stability, and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
According to a source privy to US Task Force Ayungin, the unit was made official in the aftermath of the June 17 attack of the China Coast Guard on Philippine elite soldiers, who were already moored along the BRP Sierra Madre inside Ayungin Shoal during a resupply mission. The incident, the worst and most violent confrontation between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea, resulted in the loss of one soldier’s finger and the destruction of Navy boats.
The Task Force has since been based in Palawan and conducts regular training and exercises with Wescom forces, mostly related to rotation and reprovisioning (RORE) missions to Ayungin Shoal. The American troops do not, and will not, join in RORE missions themselves, however.
Information-sharing is also part of the task force’s role, although that’s a relationship that’s long existed between the two treaty allies. American military aircraft are often seen flying above the West Philippine Sea during Philippine missions to flashpoints there.
Barely a month after the June 17 incident, US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson had also visited Wescom for a “coordination meeting.” Officials of both countries then were scant on the details and outcome of that meeting.
Ayungin Shoal, also called Second Thomas Shoal, is a low-tide elevation that’s just over 100 nautical miles from Palawan, which means is it well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It’s been the home of the BRP Sierra Madre, a Navy warship, since 1999 when the Philippines ran it aground on purpose. She has since served as a steadfast — but heavily rusted — outpost in that part of the West Philippine Sea.
China claims sovereignty over a huge swath of the South China Sea, in defiance of a 2016 Arbitral Ruling that affirmed the Philippines’ EEZ.
It’s the Wescom that overseas most of the West Philippine Sea, or part of the South China Sea that includes the Philippine EEZ. It’s also personnel from Wescom who man most of the Philippine-occupied features in those waters, including the BRP Sierra Madre, in Ayungin Shoal, a long-time flashpoint for tensions between the Philippines and China.
The US, in the past, has said that it was willing to help its treaty ally in maritime missions to the West Philippine Sea. Back in July, US Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom) chief Admiral Samuel Paparo said escorting Philippine missions to the West Philippine Sea was an “entirely reasonable option within our Mutual Defense Treaty” or MDT, referring to the decades-old pact.
Immediately after Paparo’s public confirmation of that willingness, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Romeo Brawner said the Philippines would “first rely on ourselves” before turning to any outside help, including its only ally.
Wescom is home to the Antonio Bautista Air Base, a site where American troops are allowed to preposition their assets, in accordance with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. – Rappler.com
