2 Chinese warships 'follow' PH, Australia, Canada, US drills near Bajo de Masinloc

MANILA, September 5 ------ The Philippine Navy reported the presence of two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels during the country’s 10th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) with Australia, Canada, and the United States in the West Philippine Sea on September 2 and 3.

The Chinese warships — a Luyang III-class guided-missile destroyer and a Jiangkai-class frigate — were monitored 40 nautical miles southeast of Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea. “These ships were monitored during the conduct of the 10th MMCA involving the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Philippine Navy,” Trinidad said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the official, the PLA Navy warships followed the international task group but did not participate in any surface serials or synchronized movement that would normally indicate a joint patrol, contrary to the claims of the PLA Southern Theater Command. “Such messages are part of their malign influence operations to justify their illegal presence in the country’s EEZ,” Trinidad stressed.

On Wednesday, PLA Southern Theater Command spokesperson Tian Junli said that Chinese naval forces conducted a routine patrol in the South China Sea in response to the latest joint patrol. “As the Philippines is rallying external countries for so-called ‘joint patrol,’ which undermines regional peace and stability, the troops of the theater command maintain a high level of readiness at all times and are determined to defend national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the spokesperson said.

The MMCA featured the deployment of the four countries’ premier naval and air assets: the Philippines’ BRP Jose Rizal (FF150), AW159 helicopter, SAR Sakol aircraft, and C-208B surveillance platform; Australia’s HMAS Brisbane (DDG41) and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft; Canadas’s HMCS Ville de Quebec (FFH332) and CH-148 Cyclone; and the United States’ P-8A Poseidon.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com