Philippines, Allies Develop One-Theatre Strategy East, South China Seas

Military leaders from the Philippines, Japan, Australia, and the United States are coordinating efforts to implement a "one-theatre" strategy encompassing both the East and South China Seas, a move aimed at addressing maritime threats in these contested waters. The Philippines' Secretary of National Defense, Gilberto Teodoro, described it as reasonable to treat the East and South China Seas as a single operational area, excluding the Korean Peninsula, to foster synergy in operations, domain awareness, and intelligence exchange. This approach follows a proposal by Japan's Defence Minister Gen Nakatani to the U.S. Pentagon Secretary to consider the East China Sea, South China Sea, Korean Peninsula, and surrounding areas as one military theatre. The strategy is already being operationalized by Japan's Joint Operations Command, with the allied "Squad" group planning to establish a coordinating center by December to enforce the concept. The move comes amid ongoing territorial disputes between Japan and China over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, and between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. China’s embassy in Manila has yet to comment on the development.