Latest news with #PhilippineMilitary
NHK
17-07-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Philippines, US hold maritime drills in South China Sea
The Philippines and the United States have conducted maritime drills in South China Sea waters claimed by Manila just days before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is due to visit Washington. The Philippine military says the activity saw navy and coast guard naval and air assets deployed on Wednesday. Washington dispatched missile destroyer and maritime aircraft as part of the exercise. The Philippine military chief issued a statement saying that the maritime engagements demonstrate a "commitment to maintaining a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific." The drills come as the administration of US President Donald Trump steps up its efforts to deter China. Manila and Beijing have been locked in a longstanding dispute over the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the Philippines agreed to a US proposal to construct two new boat maintenance facilities in Palawan Province, adjacent to the disputed waters. In a statement on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Manila said the move will provide repair and maintenance capabilities for several small Philippine military watercraft. This comes after an incident in May, when Manila said a Chinese government ship sideswiped one of its research vessels and hit it with a water cannon. Beijing blamed the Philippine side for the incident.
South China Morning Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
China warns Philippines against ‘self-inflicted destruction' by hosting US missile systems
China's Defence Ministry has warned the Philippines against 'self-inflicted destruction' by hosting US missile systems and denounced Manila's plan to encourage fishermen to operate in disputed South China Sea waters. Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Manila dismissed drug-smuggling allegations by Philippine military officials as 'baseless slander'. The United States has reportedly decided to deploy additional strategic Typhon missile systems in the Philippines after transporting the mid-range missile launcher to Luzon last year. The US Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) anti-ship missiles, used in last month's Balikatan joint exercise, will also remain as a 'deterrent against coercion', the Philippine military said. Manila's move to introduce these strategic weapons is 'binding itself to the US war machine', which would undermine regional security and stability and sabotage the common interests of regional nations, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said in Beijing on Thursday. 'Inviting wolves into the house will backfire, leading to self-destruction. They will destroy their own homes,' Zhang said.
South China Morning Post
25-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Will Philippines help US in another Middle East conflict?
Advertisement The issue came up at a press briefing conducted by the Philippine military on Tuesday, where officials were asked if facilities designated under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) could be used to support US operations against Iran. Following multiple attacks from Israel and Iran against each other earlier this month, the US joined its Israeli ally by attacking three nuclear facilities in Iran on Sunday. In retaliation, Iran launched multiple missiles targeting US forces at an air base in Qatar on Monday. EDCA, along with the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, grants US forces rotational access to select Philippine military bases, where they preposition fuel, ammunition and other equipment. These arrangements operate alongside the 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT), which commits both countries to act in the event of an armed attack on either party in the Pacific. Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla, spokeswoman for the Philippine military, declined to confirm whether those facilities could be used in the current conflict, saying only: 'We do not want to hone in on the role of the armed forces. At this point in time, we are prepared for any contingencies.' Advertisement The Philippine military's current priority was 'to make sure that our countrymen will come home safe', she added.
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine army unit to be deployed ‘soon' to South China Sea islands
A senior Philippine military official has revealed a soon-to-be-deployed strategy that would involve an army contingent to support law enforcement units on occupied islands in the South China Sea Advertisement Observers said the strategy would align with Manila's policy shift from an internal to external defence posture aimed at protecting the country's territorial waters. One expert, however, warned that it could lead to more aggressive moves by the Chinese navy and coastguard if Beijing were to view Manila's plan as an escalation. The Philippine army's chief, Lieutenant General Roy Galido, on Tuesday told reporters that his troops were now capable of rapid deployment and could operate effectively on various terrains and under different situations. 'We're ready. As you've heard and based on our exercises, the army right now is highly mobile and very agile. We can be lifted. A battalion size can always be lifted at any time and can be brought to any place in our country.' The army, the largest branch of the Philippine military, has around 150,000 active personnel and 1.2 million reservists. Advertisement At present, only Philippine navy personnel and a few coastguard members are assigned to nine features in the Kalayaan Island group: Pag-asa Island, Parola Island, Ayungin Shoal, Lawak Island, Kota Island, Likas Island, Panata Island, Patag Island, and Rizal Reef.
CNA
08-06-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Chinese ship runs aground off Philippines-occupied island in disputed South China Sea
MANILA: A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said on Sunday (Jun 8). When Filipino forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island on Saturday because of bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help but later saw that the ship had been extricated, regional navy spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said. No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among the crewmembers or if the ship was damaged, Collado said. Confrontations have spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships in the disputed waters in recent years. Filipino villagers living in a fishing village on Thitu, which they call Pagasa island, immediately informed the Philippine military and coast guard after seeing the Chinese ship lying in the shallows about 1.5 nautical miles (2.7 kilometers) from their village, MP Albayda, a local Filipino official, told The Associated Press. The stricken ship resembled what the Philippine military had repeatedly said were suspected Chinese militia ships, which had backed the Chinese coast guard and navy in blocking and harassing Philippine coast guard and military vessels in the disputed waters, a busy conduit for global trade and commerce. Thitu Island is home to a Philippine fishing village and Filipino forces and is the largest of nine islands and islets occupied by the Philippines. It lies about 26 kilometers from Subi Reef, which China transformed into an island base along with six other barren reefs to reinforce its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in the long-simmering territorial standoffs, an Asian flashpoint that many fear could pit China and the United States in a major conflict. The US does not lay any claim to the South China Sea but has repeatedly warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, it's longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
