West PH Sea: Philippines, US, Canada forces team up for joint maritime patrol

This handout photo taken on August 7, 2024 and released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shows (L-R) HMCS Montreal (FFH336), BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16), USS Lake Erie (CG70 and BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) sailing during the joint Philippines, US, Canada, and Australia Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The combined armed and defense forces of the Philippines, the United States (US), and Canada, will hold a joint patrol within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Wednesday.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disclosed that the three countries will conduct the seventh multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA).

“The naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together to enhance cooperation and interoperability among the armed forces,” AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday.

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“The activity will be conducted in a manner consistent with international law and with due regard for the safety of navigation, and the rights and interests of other States,” he added.

Brawner also said that the activity underscores the countries’ “shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

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On February 5,  the AFP, along with its counterparts in the US, Australia, and Japan, held the sixth MMCA.

The activity follows the presence of the China Coast Guard’s “monster ship” which was detected inside the western section of the Philippine EEZ at the time.