A YouTube video falsely claimed that the Philippines has established a military alliance with the United States (U.S.), Japan and Australia similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in response to growing tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
While the four countries recently conducted a joint naval drill off Manila, they have not organized into such a group.
NATO is a political and military alliance between 29 European countries, the U.S. and Canada established in 1949. Among others, its members agree to treat an armed attack against one as an attack against them all, and following such an attack, each Ally would take action in response.
Uploaded on Aug. 21, three days after a Japanese news agency first reported that the said nations will conduct a joint exercise in the South China Sea, the false video’s headline and thumbnail text read:
“PBBM BINULAGA ANG CHINA! PINAS GUMAWA NG N.A.T.O! MATINDING TAPATAN ITO! MALAKING SAMPAL SA CHINA (President Bongbong Marcos stunned China! The Philippines created its own NATO. This will be an intense confrontation! A big slap to China)!”
A narrator claimed that Japan, the U.S. and Australia formed the NATO-like group in the Philippines and will be sending three huge aircraft carriers in the WPS as a message against China.
According to an Aug. 25 press release from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Philippines, U.S. Australia, and Japan held a naval exercise on Aug. 24 to strengthen cooperation for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
Present in the exercise were warships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Anzac from Australia, JS Izumo and JS Samidare from Japan, USS Mobile from America, along with the Philippine Navy’s BRP Davao del Sur.
The statement never mentioned anything about creating an intergovernmental military alliance.
The 1987 Constitution also requires an approval from two-thirds of the Senate before any treaty or international agreement, such as foreign defense pacts, could be valid and effective. The Senate did not announce anything about approving a military alliance.
The circulating untrue video featured an unrelated clip of a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Japan and South Korea, as well as President Ferdinand Marcos’ Feb. 9 interview where he discussed the possibility of having a visiting forces agreement with Japan.
Uploaded by previously fact-checked YouTube channels Boss Balita TV and BALITA NI JUAN TV, the video currently has 50,074 views and 1,742 likes. Netizens also shared the links on Facebook.
Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form or send it to VERA, the truth bot on Viber.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)