“The United States and the Philippines conducted large-scale exercises off the coast of China The fifth joint naval exercise between the United States and the Philippines took place in the South China Sea with the participation of an aircraft carrier group. The maneuvers took place amid tensions with China over the presence of its ships in the Philippines’ maritime zone.β, β write on: unn.ua
The Philippines and the United States conducted their fifth joint naval exercise in the South China Sea, the Manila Armed Forces said on Sunday. This cooperation is likely to cause displeasure in China.
The Philippine military said in a statement that the exercises took place on Friday and Saturday. These were the first joint maneuvers in 2024 and the fifth overall since the start of regular interaction in 2023. Under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., security cooperation between the Philippines and the United States increased significantly, notably through the expansion of US military access to military bases, including in regions bordering Taiwan.
The US aircraft carrier strike group Carl Vinson, two guided-missile destroyers, two helicopters and two F-18 Hornet aircraft took part in the exercise. On the Philippine side, the frigate “Antonio Luna”, the patrol ship “Andres Bonifacio”, two FA-50 fighters and search and rescue vehicles of the Air Force were involved.
Philippine military officials said the exercise strengthened “bilateral maritime cooperation and interoperability.” They also stressed that the joint action came amid the Philippines’ appeal to China over the presence of Chinese coast guard ships in its maritime zone, including a 165-meter-long vessel that Manila calls a “monster” because of its size.
We will remind
Earlier, China accused the Philippines of creating provocations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.