Posted on August 15, 2025
With Paul McLeary and Sam Skove
Hours after a dangerous standoff between China and the Philippines near the disputed Scarborough Shoal this week, Sen. Todd Young landed in nearby Palawan — the heart of the increasingly tense contest over the South China Sea.
First in MD: Young, speaking to your anchor from the Philippines, said his discussions with Philippine officials afterward confirmed that Manila’s alliance with Washington is evolving in the face of mounting pressure from Beijing.
Replay: A Chinese navy ship collided with a coast guard vessel while chasing a Philippine patrol boat delivering aid to locals, in a headline-grabbing incident caught on video. (Young was in the country but not near the incident when it occurred.)
Manila said the Chinese ships had attempted to block the resupply mission — an aggressive tactic. Beijing said the collision was an accident caused by “unprofessional maneuvers” after the Philippine vessel deliberately intruded into Chinese waters.
First-person: “They’ve become quite sophisticated,” Young said of Filipino mariners. “From coast guard boat handling to first aid and maritime domain awareness, you’re seeing a real evolution — not just more training, but a shift in posture. They’re responding to China’s new tactics with greater capability and resolve.”
Young is likely the first sitting member of Congress to visit Palawan, generally regarded as a strategically vital island near the contested Spratly chain, where the U.S. is building new infrastructure to help the Philippines.
Young’s trip included meetings with senior Philippine national security officials, naval and coast guard leadership, wildlife researchers and locals who rely on waters to which Beijing claims and denies them access.
“It’s not just about geopolitics. It’s livelihoods, it’s food security, it’s biodiversity,” Young said. “The economic and ecological stakes are profound.”
Legislative agenda: The Indiana Republican is pushing new legislation to expand U.S. cooperation with Southeast Asian partners on maritime security. His HARPOON Act — short for Halting Aggression by Responding with Proactive Operational Networks — would expand joint Coast Guard patrols, boost intel-sharing and authorize security assistance for countering illegal fishing and maritime coercion, especially from China. Before the summer recess, he offered it as an amendment to the NDAA.
The Coast Guard should have an “enduring presence” in the Philippines to complement “too infrequent” U.S. Navy freedom of navigation operations, he said. Those are missions in which, typically, warships from the Navy’s 7th fleet sail through contested waters to assert free passage under international law.
EDCA: Young voiced support for new U.S.-backed infrastructure projects under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement forged in the Biden administration, which allows the U.S. military to build facilities and rotate forces at select Philippine bases. The U.S. is funding construction of a fast-boat base on the island and a separate facility to support uncrewed surface vessels at the Philippine Navy’s Western Command.
“There’s a huge opportunity to integrate our militaries in terms of technology and interoperability,” Young said.
Eyeing China: Northern Luzon island in the Philippines sits almost as close to Taiwan as Key West is to Cuba. “Defending these waterways isn’t just about the Philippines; it’s about deterring broader conflict,” Young said. “To the extent they see the United States actively assisting them … I would anticipate they’d be prepared to fight with us.”
