3 Chinese warships seen during 4-nation joint patrols in WPS

Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines —photo from the AFP FB page

MANILA, Philippines — Three Chinese warships were monitored during the Wednesday joint patrols of the country together with the United States, Canada, and Australia in the West Philippine Sea, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The AFP public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said three People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Jiangdao II class corvettes, namely Wuzhou (FSG 626), Huangshan (FFG 570) and Qujing (FSG 668).

Trinidad, in a statement, said these PLA-N warships “tailed the ongoing AUS-CAN-PH-US Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity.”

READ: West Philippine Sea: PH holds joint patrols with US, Canada, Australia

The AFP contingent included the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) with an AW159 helicopter and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16), while the United States sent the USS Lake Erie (CG70) and a Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter.

Australia deployed its P8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, while Canada deployed the HMCS Montreal (FFH336) and a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter.

Enhance collective capabilities

“By working together, we enhance our collective capabilities and demonstrate our shared dedication to maintaining a secure maritime environment,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner said in another statement.

Also on Wednesday, China also said it carried out a patrol in the West Philippine Sea.

China said it tested its “strike capabilities” off Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, but Trinidad said there are “no traces of Chinese military activity” there.

READ: West Philippine Sea: China launches air, sea patrols near Scarborough Shoal

“Aside from the usual illegal encroachment and presence of Chinese maritime militia vessels, we have not monitored any purported exercise or combat patrols,” Trinidad also said.

Beijing’s activities are based on its assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by the arbitral award issued in July 2016.

The landmark ruling stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013, or a year after its tense standoff with Beijing over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, whose lagoon the latter now has an effective control of.