Philippines, US hold war games near flashpoint reef
A US destroyer will join the Philippine Navy’s flagship for war games starting on Thursday close to a flashpoint area of the South China Sea, adding to tensions with China over rival territorial claims.
The exercises are a boost for the Philippines’ poorly equipped military as it struggles with perceived rising Chinese aggression, and follows repeated pleas to longtime ally the United States for protection.
“The goal of these exercises is to further boost cooperation... between the two armed forces and further streamline responses to counter-terrorism and maritime security,” deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said.
The six-day exercises are an annual event but this year they will be held off the west coast of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, close to Scarborough Shoal which China insists it owns.
The shoal is a tiny set of rocks and islets in the South China Sea 230km east of Luzon and 1,200km from the nearest major Chinese landmass.
China claims nearly all of the strategically vital South China Sea, even waters close to the shores of its smaller neighbours.
Tensions between China and other claimants to the sea, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam, have escalated in recent years amid a series of Chinese political and military actions to assert its claims to the waters.
The Philippines says China has effectively occupied Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground, for more than a year.
Manila says Chinese vessels now constantly patrol the waters around the shoal, forcing Filipino fishermen who have sailed there for generations to stay away.
Philippine Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic said some of the Philippine-US exercises would be held between Luzon island and the shoal.
Specifically, Fabic said some of the drills would be 108 kilometres east of Scarborough Shoal in “sea lanes of communication within Philippine territory”.
Nevertheless, Fabic stressed the war games were not meant to provoke China.
“While the exercises will be between Scarborough Shoal and the main island of Luzon, the focus is inter-operability and not targeted against the Chinese,” Fabic said.
The Co-operation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercises will involve three US Navy vessels, including the USS Fitzgerald, a guided missile destroyer, according to a Philippine Navy statement.
The Philippines will deploy its flagship, a former US coastguard cutter called the Gregorio del Pilar, as well as other navy and coastguard vessels.
About 500 US forces and another 500 Filipino troops will take part in the exercises, according to Fabic.
He said among the highlights was an exercise designed to intercept suspected enemy ships, board them and seize materials they may be carrying that could pose a danger to allies.
There will also be simulated counter-terrorism exercises, as well as training in disaster response and increasing proficiency in naval gunnery, he added.
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the South China Sea, which is believed to sit atop vast deposits of fossil fuels, and the area has for decades been regarded as a potential trigger for major military conflict.
China has consistently reacted with anger at Philippine efforts in recent years to hold onto the territory claimed by both countries.
The Chinese embassy in Manila released a statement on Thursday cautioning the Philippines and the United states not to exacerbate tensions in the area with its exercises.
“We hope relevant sides should take actions that are beneficial for maintaining peace and stability in the region, not the other way around,” the statement said, citing a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing.
Since last month the Philippine Navy has also been monitoring Chinese vessels circling in another part of the South China Sea close to a Philippine-controlled reef called the Second Thomas Shoal.
