PH, US, Japan navies sail together in Indo-Pacific –Hegseth

Navies from the Philippines, United States, and Japan conducted a joint sail in the Indo-Pacific area on Friday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity was conducted by the three nations in the West Philippine Sea.

The Japanese Embassy in Manila said the Philippine Navy deployed the BRP Jose Rizal while the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force posted the JS Norshiro. The US Navy deployed the USS Shoup.

This exercise followed the inaugural port call of JMSDF JS Noshiro at the Naval Operating Base Subic (NOBS), the embassy said.

“We're here in the Philippines to strengthen that partnership. We'll be in Japan to do the same. I believe as we speak all three countries are sailing together right now in the region,” Hegseth said in a press conference after a meeting with Philippine officials.

“So we have that security cooperation happening right now with our navies at sea, sending those signals of cooperation. I know [President Donald Trump] values greatly the ability to bring together an alliance as opposed to just unilateral action which is never as effective,” he added.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said that the trilateral cooperation between the three countries is moving “at a very fast pace.”

“Aside from the multilateral cooperative activity right now, Japan has just announced its inauguration of the joint operational command under [Lieutenant General Kenichiro Nagumo], which is at the operational level a result of our trilateral partnership,” Teodoro said.

“A lot of activities are ongoing and we are merging and meshing these capabilities together with Australia at a speed which we have not seen in a long long time,” he added.

Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Parts of the South China Sea that fall within the Philippines' territory and claims have been renamed by the government as the West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country’s claim.

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including the Luzon Sea and the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that they had "no legal basis."

China has refused to recognize the decision. –NB, GMA Integrated News