US, Japan, Philippines stage navy drills

ABOARD BRP JOSE RIZAL, South China Sea – The Philippines staged joint naval drills with the United States and Japan on Friday near Panatag Shoal to boost crisis readiness as a Chinese warship kept watch from a distance.

The Chinese frigate attempted to get closer to the waters, where the warships and aircraft from the three allied countries were undertaking maneuvers in an unsettling moment, but it was warned by a Philippine frigate by radio and kept away.

“There was a time when they attempted to maneuver closer but, again, we challenged them,” Philippine Navy Commander Irvin Ian Robles told reporters.

The drills coincided with the visit of US defense chief Pete Hegseth to Manila for talks with his Philippine counterpart Gilbert Teodoro Jr. and President Marcos.

“All three countries are sailing together right now in the region…sending those signals of cooperation,” Hegseth said. “The broader our alliance, the better. The more security cooperation, the better…the more strategic dilemmas for our adversaries, the better,” he added.

The latest naval drills, called the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, were opened for the first time to a small group of Manila-based media, including an AP photojournalist, since such high-seas maneuvers and joint naval sails began last year.

During the daylong maneuvers, the Jose Rizal, US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Shoup and Japanese multi-mission frigate JS Noshiro sailed in formation and communicated by radio, as US and Philippine helicopters flew around.

A small group of American sailors from Shoup used a speedboat to transfer to the Jose Rizal and hold discussions with Filipino counterparts.

“We are here to support our allies and support a free and open Indo-Pacific for everyone,” US Navy Lt. Alexander Horvath said.

Such naval drills result in “the vital improvements in our coordination, tactics and shared maritime awareness,” Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a statement.

Reacting to Hegseth’s Manila visit and the joint drills, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said “whatever cooperation the US and the Philippines have, it should not target or harm any third party, still less, spread accusations about phantom threats to incite confrontation and heighten tensions in the region.”

“Let me stress that freedom of navigation and overflight has never had any problem in the South China Sea. Throughout the years it’s always been the US who has abetted its allies’ provocations, falsely called China a ‘threat’ and claimed that there’s an issue with ‘freedom of navigation in the South China Sea’ and kept deploying more and more military resource to the region and undermining its peace and stability,” he said in a statement.

Teodoro, however, laughed off Guo’s pronouncement, saying Chinese officials’ “limited world view” explains the “robotic quality” of their statements.

“You know the problem is, you will hear me, the US will hear me, Filipinos will hear me but one billion or more Chinese won’t listen or hear what I said,” he added.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea. A 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidated those claims, but Beijing refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the outcome and continues to defy it.