The Philippines and the United States held a joint naval exercise near disputed waters in the South China Sea, involving the two countries’ coast guards for the first time, the Philippine Armed Forces said on Wednesday, as relations between China and the Philippines remain tense over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
The exercise was held on Tuesday in the waters off Palawan Island and Occidental Mindoro Province in the western Philippines. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and naval and air forces of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command participated in the joint exercise, code-named “Maritime Cooperation Activity” (MCA). It was the sixth such exercise between the two countries.
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed the Melchora Aquino and Malapascua patrol ships, while the United States sent the Coast Guard cutter Stratton and a P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft, a Philippine military statement said.
The Philippine and US coast guards have held joint exercises before, but this is the first time that they have held a joint military exercise. The maritime exercise included exercises on maritime awareness, squad tactics, maneuvers, and boarding, search and seizure.
The Philippine Armed Forces said this marked a “growing national approach to maritime cooperation.” The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said in a statement on Wednesday that the bilateral maritime cooperation activities “demonstrate a collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation and supporting a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The Seventh Fleet is part of the Pacific Fleet under the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
“Maritime Partnership Activities help us continue to build strong military-to-military relationships with our Philippine naval allies,” Vice Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, said in the statement. “Each iteration of these operations furthers our shared efforts to maintain regional stability in this critical region.”
“This is an opportunity to strengthen important connections with partner nations that share our focus on maintaining a free, secure and open maritime environment,” said Capt. Brian Krautler, commanding officer of the Stratton.
“As the Philippines continues to respond to evolving maritime challenges, joint operations like Maritime Cooperation Events reaffirm the AFP’s commitment to modernizing capabilities and strengthening defense partnerships to secure our national and regional maritime interests,” said AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.
China claims sovereignty over almost all islands and reefs in the South China Sea. In recent years, tensions have arisen between China and the Philippines over sovereignty disputes over some islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and maritime conflicts have occurred many times.
Earlier this month, the Chinese navy and air force tracked and drove away a Philippine frigate in the waters near Scarborough Shoal (China calls it Huangyan Island). In late April, the Chinese Coast Guard landed on the sandbar of the disputed Pag Asa No. 2 Reef (China calls it Tiexian Reef) in the South China Sea, unfurled a national flag, and “exercised sovereign jurisdiction.” The Philippines said China’s statement was not true.
China has not yet commented on the joint exercise. But on May 8, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang criticized the US-Philippines military exercise, saying: “Some people in the Philippines are ‘making trouble in the sea’ for their own selfish interests, wooing the United States and other foreign forces to embolden themselves, undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea, and even trying to play with fire and stir up trouble on the Taiwan issue. We urge the Philippines to stop infringing on rights and provocations, and stop colliding with China’s core interests in any way.”
By
