Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, US conduct joint exercise in PH waters

The Philippines is conducting Saturday joint maritime drills within its territorial waters with the defense forces of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Romeo Brawner Jr. announced.

In a statement on Saturday morning, Brawner said the defense forces of the Philippines and its ally-nations, "demonstrating a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, will conduct a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone on September 28, 2024."

"The naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together enhancing cooperation and interoperability between our armed forces," the AFP chief said.

"The activity will be conducted in a manner consistent with international law and with due regard to the safety of navigation and the rights and interests of other States," he said.

This developed as the Chinese military's Southern Theater Command said Saturday that it had organized air and sea forces to carry out drills and patrols of the sea and airspace in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

The drills around the Scarborough Shoal would focus on carrying out reconnaissance and early warning activities, the command said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear how close the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) would be to Scarborough Shoal.

Brawner said the joint maritime drills with the US, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand underscore the nations' shared commitments to upholding 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 (UNCLOS).

The AFP chief's announcement came a day after the Philippine military completed its rotation and resupply mission for the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal without interference from Chinese vessels in the area.

State media quoted China's coast guard as saying Thursday's trip was in line with a temporary deal between the two countries, a reference to a provisional agreement struck in July after both had repeated altercations near the shoal.

Although the Philippines resumed its missions in Ayungin Shoal without untoward incidents, tensions have marred recent missions near other contested features in the West Philippines, including the repeated ramming of the BRP Teresa Magbanua at Escoda Shoal, the firing of flares from Subi (Zamora) Reef, and the close flight of a Chinese military helicopter near a plane of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) over Bajo de Masinloc.

China has a massive claim in the South China Sea (SCS), including the portion the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The SCS is a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Aside from the Philippines, China has overlapping claims in the area with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis.

China has not recognized the decision. — VDV, GMA Integrated News