(UPDATES) THE Philippines launched on Wednesday two days of joint sea and air exercises with the United States, Canada and Australia, a joint statement said, as China carried out a combat patrol to test its “strike capabilities” near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the South China Sea.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Affairs Office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the four-nation maneuvers that would last until Thursday would demonstrate regional strength and international cooperation inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone.
The sail would also emphasize the lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), Trinidad said.
DAY ONE Philippine Navy personnel watch the Canadian vessel HMCS Montreal (FFH336) during the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity being held in the West Philippine Sea from Aug. 7 to 8, 2024. AFP PHOTO
Participants in the maneuvers include Australia’s Poseidon (P8A) aircraft; the HMCS Montreal (FFH336), a Halifax-class frigate and the Sikorsky CH148 Cyclone plane from Canada; the USS Erie Lake, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and Sikorsky MH-60R Sea Hawk; and the Philippine vessels BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) and Ramon Alcaraz.
Trinidad said the naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together, enhancing cooperation and interoperability among the countries’ armed forces.
The exercises come as China’s saber-rattling toward Taiwan and over the South China Sea fuels fears of a potential conflict that could drag in the United States.
Beijing claims most of the strategic South China Sea, dismissing an international tribunal ruling that its claims were without basis.
Manila held separate naval exercises in the South China Sea last week, first with the United States and then with Japan two days later.
A joint coast guard exercise is also scheduled off Manila Bay on Friday between the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the United States and signed a treaty with Japan last month that will allow the deployment of troops on each other’s territory.
The “multilateral maritime cooperative activity” will be the first as a group by the four nations and involve naval and air force units, a Filipino military spokesman said.
“The naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together, enhancing cooperation and interoperability between our armed forces,” said the joint statement, which did not name the participating vessels and military units.
“Australia, Canada, the Philippines and the United States uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
In 2012, China used coast guard vessels to take control of Panatag Shoal, a triangular chain of reefs and rocks that are part of a rich fishing ground and had long been used by Filipino fishermen as a safe harbor.
On Wednesday, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said it had “organized a joint combat patrol in the sea and air space” near the area.
The maneuvers tested “the reconnaissance and early warning, rapid mobility, and joint strike capabilities of theater troops,” Beijing said.
China has long used its coast guard to press its claims in the South China Sea.
And while the Chinese military had been deployed near Panatag Shoal in the past, one analyst said Wednesday’s action showed they were “becoming more aggressive and forceful.”
“It’s meant to intimidate,” Jay Batongbacal, director of the Manila-based Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said.
Escalating confrontations
There have been a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea in recent months, including around a warship grounded for years by Manila on the contested Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
One of the most serious incidents took place in June, when Chinese sailors brandishing weapons, including knives and an axe, boarded Philippine naval vessels near the strategic reef.
The Philippine military said one of its sailors lost a thumb in the confrontation, in which Beijing’s coast guard also confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment, including guns.
Beijing blamed the escalation on Manila and maintains its actions to protect its claims are legal and proportional.
In recent weeks, the Philippines and China have agreed on a “provisional arrangement” for resupplying Filipino troops stationed on Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and also to increase the number of communication lines to resolve disputes in the waterway.
Last month, the United States said it would provide $500 million in additional military funding to the Philippines to combat Beijing’s growing assertiveness.
Beijing said in response that “wooing countries from outside the region to provoke confrontation… will only undermine regional stability and aggravate tensions.”
The investment “will only lead to greater insecurity” for Manila, it warned.
The four countries participating in the four-country maneuvers this week are represented by Adm. David Johnston AC Ran, chief of defense staff of Australia; Gen. M. Jennie Carignan, Canadian chief of defense staff; AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.; and Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command.
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