Philippines and US hold joint maritime exercises in disputed South China Sea

THE PHILIPPINES and the US held joint maritime exercises for a fifth time in the South China Sea, Manila’s armed forces said on Sunday, in a move that could irk China.

The Philippine military said in a statement it held a “maritime cooperative activity” with the US on Friday and Saturday, its first for the year and fifth overall since launching the joint activities in 2023.

Security engagements between the two allies have soared under Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who has pivoted closer to Washington, allowing the expansion of military bases that American forces can access, including facilities that face Taiwan.

The joint maritime activity included the US’ Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, two guided missile destroyers, two helicopters and two F-18 Hornet aircraft.

The Philippine side deployed its Antonio Luna frigate, Andres Bonifacio patrol ship, two FA-50 fighter jets and search and rescue assets of the air force.

The activities “reinforced bilateral maritime cooperation and interoperability,” the Philippine armed forces said.

Their joint activity came at a time when the Philippines had called out China over the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels inside its maritime zone, including the 165-meter-long ship that it describes as “the monster” for its size.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond for a request for comment at the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vowed to prevent China from normalizing its ship deployments within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.

In a statement on Saturday night, the agency said its vessel BRP Gabriela Silang was “actively monitoring and challenging the unlawful presence” of Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5901 or its so-called monster ship.

The monster ship was last seen 60-70 nautical miles from the Zambales coastline, it said.

The PCG crew conducted a radio challenge to remind the Chine Coast Guard of their “unlawful actions, particularly regarding their claims of conducting maritime patrols.”

The 83-meter French-built BRP Gabriela Silang was “boldly asserting its stance against any attempts to legitimize illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea,” the PCG said, referring to parts of the South China Sea within the Philippine EEZ.

“By confronting the presence of Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5901, the PCG sends a clear message: the normalization of unlawful deployments will not be accepted or tolerated,” it added.

The PCG noted that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation for foreign-flagged vessels does not extend to patrols within the EEZ of other states.

“The PCG stands firm in its dedication to ensuring that no unlawful actions by the China Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea go unchallenged.”

The Philippines last week accused China of intimidating Filipino fishermen near Scarborough Shoal and normalizing its “illegal presence” after Beijing sent its biggest coast guard ship into the Philippine EEZ.

The monster ship was first spotted within the Philippine EEZ on Jan. 4, prompting the dispatch of the PCG’s largest ship.

A United Nations-backed tribunal based in the Hague in 2016 voided China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea for being illegal, as it ruled Scarborough Shoal, which Beijing has controlled since 2012, is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen.

The shoal, which Manila calls Bajo de Masinloc, is 241 kilometers off Zambales and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile EEZ.

PCG spokesman Jay Tristan Tarriela last week said the monster ship’s presence near the Zambales coast could not be considered an innocent passage and does not fall under the principle of freedom of navigation because its movement is “not continuous and it is not expeditious.”

“Meaning, it has erratic movements — sometimes it goes up, goes down, turns left, turns right arbitrarily. There is no specific reason why they are doing that,” he noted. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza with Reuters