The United States has quietly bolstered its involvement in the South China Sea conflict by deploying “Task Force Ayungin”, a special operations unit that analysts say signals Washington’s recognition of the Philippines’ sovereignty over contested maritime features claimed by Beijing.
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Named after the Ayungin Shoal – a flashpoint in Manila’s maritime conflict with China – the task force’s existence was confirmed by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during his visit to the Philippines last week.
“I visited the Command and Control Fusion Center in Palawan today. I also met with some American service members deployed to US 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,” Austin wrote in a social media post on November 19.
Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst at Rand Corporation, said the deployment of US soldiers to the shoal was a tacit acknowledgement of the Philippine position in the disputed waterway.
“Has anyone realised that by disclosing the existence of ‘US Task Force Ayungin’, Biden admin implicitly recognised Philippines’ sovereignty over a disputed [South China Sea] feature?” he asked in a social media post, noting that Washington had never previously taken such a position on a specific feature in the contested maritime zone.
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“This is a clear signal to China,” Grossman added.