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Orange Wang

The Chinese military carried out patrols in the South China Sea on Saturday, as the Philippines and Japan held a joint drill in the disputed waters.
China’s People’s Liberation Army joint sea and air patrols were conducted by the Southern Theatre Command, its spokesman Senior Colonel Tian Junli said in a statement on Sunday.
The PLA patrols were a response to the Philippines-Japan joint maritime drills – their second since August – which Tian called a threat to regional peace.
“The Philippines has been courting countries outside the region to conduct so-called joint patrols, raising security risks in the South China Sea and undermining regional peace and stability,” Tian said in the statement.
He said PLA Southern Theatre Command troops would “remain on high alert” to safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
“Any military activities that stir up trouble or create flashpoints in the South China Sea are fully under control,” he said.

The joint drill – dubbed the Maritime Cooperative Activity – was held to the west of Masinloc, a town on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, according to Kyodo News.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a social media post earlier on Sunday that the exercise with Japan highlighted “the deepening trust and coordination between the two allies as they respond to traditional and emerging security challenges in the region”.
General Romeo Brawner Jnr, chief of staff of the Philippine military, called it “a manifestation of our enduring commitment to uphold peace, stability and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific”.
The joint exercise was held a day after Japan’s parliament ratified a reciprocal access agreement with the Philippines that was signed last July by the two countries – both neighbours of China and United States treaty allies.
The pact allows the deployment of Filipino and Japanese forces on each other’s soil for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills.
Both countries have seen an increase in tensions with China over territorial disputes and they share concerns over Beijing’s activities in the region.
Beijing’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea are contested by multiple neighbouring countries, including the Philippines.
There have been frequent run-ins between China and the Philippines in the resource-rich waterway since 2023, and it has also become an arena for military posturing by Beijing, Washington and its allies.
In April and May, nearly 17,000 Filipino and American troops took part in the annual Balikatan joint exercise, which this year included “full-scale battle scenarios” and maritime drills in the South China Sea.
While it was being held, Chinese aircraft carrier the Shandong made two rare transits to the north of the Philippines within the span of a week.


Thomas Shattuck, a non-resident fellow with the Hawaii-based foreign policy research institute Pacific Forum, expected the second Donald Trump administration to continue support for the Philippines as long as Manila continued to invest in its own defence and military while supporting US efforts to counter Beijing in the region.
“Manila remains one of the few Southeast Asian capitals actively confronting Beijing and resisting its coercive tactics,” Shattuck said in a report released on Thursday and prepared with Grandview Institution, a Beijing-based think tank.
“Consequently, such actions would likely be viewed favourably – particularly given that the current administration in Manila has pivoted toward closer alignment with the United States.”


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South China Sea

PLA patrols in the South China Sea as Philippines, Japan hold joint drills

The Chinese military conducted patrols in the South China Sea on Saturday while a Philippine-Japan joint drill was under way. Photo: PLA Southern Theatre Command

A Philippine Navy helicopter hovers above a Japanese Takanami-class destroyer during a joint drill on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo

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A multilateral maritime drill conducted between Australia, the United States, Japan and the Philippines is held within Manila’s exclusive economic zone in April 2024. Photo: Australian Department of Defence/AFP

A Philippine Marine salutes in front of US, Philippine, Australia, and Japan flags during joint military drills in October 2024. Photo: AFP

Japan-Philippines military drills to become a reality after Tokyo ratifies defence pact

A Philippine marine stands guard during a joint exercise with their US and South Korean counterparts, with members of Japan’s self-defence forces as observers in October 2024. Photo: AFP

Lawmakers attend a session at the House of Representatives of the National Diet in Tokyo, Japan. The Diet ratified a reciprocal access agreement with the Philippines on Friday. Photo: Xinhua/File

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Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning carries out a dual aircraft carrier formation exercise with the Shandong aircraft carrier (not in picture) for the first time in the South China Sea in late October. Photo: Xinhua/AP

AJ-15 fighter jet from the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong makes an unusual approach to a Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force P-3C patrol aircraft that was conducting surveillance above the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. Photo: Japan’s Ministry of Defence/AFP

A helicopter takes off from the Shandong aircraft carrier over Pacific Ocean waters, in this handout photo taken on April 15, 2023. Photo: Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Reuters

Ely Ratner, the former assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs. Photo: Reuters

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Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV on Friday shows an island defence drill on a disputed reef in the South China Sea. Photo: CCTV

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A Philippine Naval Special Operations Group approaches Philippine occupied West York Island. Photo: AP

The Philippine-occupied West York Island, known locally as Likas. Photo: AP

A Philippine marine uses binoculars at West York Island. Photo: AP

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla smiles as she kneels and kisses the beach. Photo: AP

Philippine marines play basketball on West York Island. Photo: AP

News

China

Military

Diplomacy

Chinese military says Manila has courted countries outside the region, ‘raising security risks’ and undermining peace and stability


Chinese military says Manila has courted countries outside the region, ‘raising security risks’ and undermining peace and stability.


The Philippines

Japan

PLA patrols in the South China Sea as Philippines, Japan hold joint drills

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese military says Manila has courted countries outside the region, ‘raising security risks’ and undermining peace and stability

Chinese military says Manila has courted countries outside the region, ‘raising security risks’ and undermining peace and stability