The Philippines joined the United States, Japan, and Australia on Sunday for a large-scale joint air and naval exercise in the South China Sea. China peevishly announced “combat patrols” to counter the exercise, boasting it would keep the United States and its allies “under control.”
The Philippine military said the joint exercise, dubbed “the first Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMC) in the West Philippine Sea,” was a success.
The exercise involved six surface vessels and four aircraft, which performed “communications exercises” and practiced tactical maneuvers within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“These activities were designed to enhance the different forces’ abilities to work together effectively in maritime scenarios,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.
“The MMCA demonstrated the participating countries’ commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific through interoperability exercises in the maritime domain,” the AFP declared.
Australian Commander Jennifer Graham of the HMAS Warramunga, an Anzac-class frigate that participated in the exercise, said:
We thoroughly enjoyed Philippine hospitality and activities while alongside at Puerto Princesa as part of our regional presence deployment, including cultural exchanges, ship tour and an official function, plus a goodwill match of soccer and basketball with the Philippine Navy at Naval Station Apolinario.
“We were very impressed with the capability, professionalism and support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines elements involved in the planning and execution of the activity,” Squadron Leader Tristan Hull said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement released before the exercise that the first-ever joint training maneuvers by the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines would “underscore our shared commitment to ensuring that all countries are free to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.”
All of the participating nations stressed the need to protect freedom of navigation and national sovereignty, which was deeply irksome to the major regional menace to both of those things, China.
China has been attempting to take forcible control of the entire South China Sea region, in defiance of international court rulings. China’s aggression against Filipino ships recently escalated to the point that several Filipino naval personnel were injured by Chinese water cannons last month. The Philippines lodged a formal protest with China over the incident.
China held a “joint naval and air combat patrol” on Sunday in response to the quadrilateral exercise conducted by the United States and its allies.
The Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) boasted that “all military activities that mess up the situation in the South China Sea and create hotspots are under control.”
A spokesman for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force said on Monday he was aware of Chinese ships operating near the joint exercise with the Philippines, but offered no further details.
Philippine armed forces commander Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said that “two Chinese naval ships were sighted during the joint exercise,” but the Chinese ships did not “block or prevent the exercises we were doing.”
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