Philippines, US hold drills near Palawan

MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom) held joint drills in the West Philippine Sea off the coast of Palawan from January 17 to 18, as Philippine security officials continue to raise the alarm over Chinese maritime activity further up north off the coast of Zambales. 

The joint drills, the first for the two treaty-allies in 2025, involved the following assets: 

Philippines: 

• BRP Antonio Luna (FF151)
• BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS17)
• 2 FA50 fighter aircraft
• Philippine Air Force Search and Rescue (SAR) assets

Indopacom, meanwhile used the following: 

• USS CARL VINSON Carrier Strike Group (VIN CSG)
• USS Princeton (CG59)
• USS Sterett (DDG104)
• An MH-60 Seahawk helicopter
• An V-22 Osprey helicopter
• Two F-18 Hornet aircraft

The two militaries conducted a Communications Check Exercise, Division Tactics / Officer of the Watch maneuver, a Photo Exercise, and Dissimilar Aircraft Combat Training, according to a release from the AFP. 

The first joint drills of 2025 also take place just days before Donald Trump, who has spoken little about the region as president-elect, marks a return to the White House. Trump has spoken to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. via phone call and has met with the President’s cousin, Philippine ambassador to the US Babes Romualdez, in person. 

Maritime drills

The drills, referred to as a Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA), are the fifth between the Philippines and United States since 2023, according to the AFP. When more than two countries are involved, the activity is called a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA). Drills in the West Philippine Sea, a part of the South China Sea that includes the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ), have been participated in by the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Philippine and French vessels had also conducted maritime drills on the sidelines of a bilateral US-Philippine military exercise. 

Military exercises in the West Philippine have increased — and become more prominent — under the Marcos administration, with it policy to be more assertive in upholding the Philippines’ sovereign rights and sovereignty claims in those waters. Occasionally, these drills takes place amid reports of another Chinese incursion in the Philippine EEZ. 

”This MCA is a crucial element of our continued efforts to strengthen defense cooperation. With each exercise, we become increasingly prepared and effective in addressing the challenges ahead. This is a result of our shared commitment and mutual effort to safeguard our national interests, and secure a peaceful region.” AFP Chief of Staff, General Romeo S Brawner Jr said.

Drills are important to make sure that militaries from different countries are used to working each other in different scenarios. 

The Philippines had earlier raised alarm over the China Coast Guard’s presence in waters just 60 to 90 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales, a province located north of Palawan that also faces the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine Navy earlier announced it had conducted unilateral drills around Scarborough Shoal, a feature close to Zambales that’s been under Chinese control since 2012. 

Before the Navy exercise, the Philippines said it would “engage in dialogue” with China even as its “position is clear and consistent.” The two countries agreed to “reinvigorate the platform for coast guard cooperation” and “identified ocean meteorology as an area of focus for a workshop on marine scientific cooperation.” – Rappler.com