PH Navy monitors Chinese vessels, aircraft during Balikatan maritime drills

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA, April 30 ------ The Philippine Navy monitored several Chinese naval vessels and aircraft within the vicinity of the Multinational Maritime Exercise (MME) under Balikatan 2026, officials said.

According to Capt. Paul Michael Hechenova, commanding officer of BRP Miguel Malvar, a number of foreign vessels were detected from the start of the maritime drills on April 24 until their conclusion. “During the duration of this activity, we detected, so far, four PLA Navy warships around the vicinity of the exercises starting from day one at sea,” Hechenova said.

Among those monitored were a Jiangkai III-class frigate (bow number 555), a Jiangkai II-class frigate (bow number 547), a Luyang-class destroyer (bow number 168), and a Dongdiao-class intelligence-gathering ship. In addition, two Chinese Coast Guard vessels were also monitored in the area. The Philippine Navy also tracked aerial assets believed to be from China, including a fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft, a helicopter, and an unmanned aerial vehicle. “We also monitored three aircraft from them flying around—one fixed-wing aircraft, one unmanned system flying above 20,000 feet, and one helicopter coming from one of their warships,” Hechenova added.

Despite their presence, the Navy said no unusual or hostile actions were recorded. “Generally, okay naman sila. Cordial ang behavior nila. No confrontation, no radio challenges. They’re just here monitoring our activity,” Hechenova said. The monitored vessels and aircraft did not interfere with the conduct of the multinational exercises, which involved naval forces from the Philippines, United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada.

The Philippine Navy earlier said the maritime drills were carried out within the country’s exclusive economic zone and were aimed at enhancing interoperability and defense cooperation among allied forces. Officials said the monitoring of foreign vessels is part of standard maritime domain awareness operations during large-scale exercises. The MME forms part of the broader Balikatan 2026 exercises, considered the largest iteration to date, involving around 17,000 troops across land, air, and maritime domains.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com