Philippines denies claims of China bomber patrol during drills with US, Japan

MANILA, Philippines, November 20 ------ The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it did not monitor Chinese bomber formations in the West Philippine Sea during a joint maritime exercise with the United States and Japan last week, contradicting a report by Chinese state media. “There was no monitored such formations in our maritime domain during the conduct of MMCA in the WPS,” Col. Xerxes Trinidad, AFP public affairs chief, told Philstar.com in a message.

Trinidad was asked for comment after Chinese state outlet Global Times reported that the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command conducted a bomber formation patrol in the South China Sea on November 14 — the same day the three-country Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity began. A spokesperson for the PLA Southern Theater Command said in the report that China organized the bomber patrol “amid the Philippines’ so-called ‘joint patrols’ with external forces.” “The Philippines has frequently colluded with external forces to carry out so-called ‘joint patrols,’ undermining regional peace and stability,” the spokesperson said, warning Manila to “immediately stop provoking incidents and escalating tensions.”

The drills ran from November 14 to 15 in an undisclosed area in the West Philippine Sea — the 13th such exercise overall and the eighth this year. The AFP deployed frigate BRP Jose Rizal, BRP Antonio Luna, and an AW159 helicopter. The US sent the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, including the USS Nimitz and three destroyers. Japan participated with JS Akebono and an SH-60K Seahawk helicopter.

The Philippine Coast Guard also joined with BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Cape San Agustin. The drills included anti-submarine warfare exercises, cross-deck landing operations, and maritime domain awareness training. The AFP described the MMCA as a reflection of its commitment to “safeguarding the nation’s sovereign rights” and strengthening deterrence with partners.

China routinely objects to joint military activities involving the Philippines and like-minded nations in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that invalidated its sweeping maritime claims. Manila has been seeking more security and defense partnerships with a wide range of countries to strengthen deterrence against China, whose Navy and Coast Guard fleet dwarfs the Philippines’.

Source: philstar.com