AFP: No Chinese ships during West PH Sea drills with Canada, Australia

Partner navies BRP Jose Rizal (FF150), HMAS Brisbane (DDG41), and HMCS Ville de Québec (FFH 332) sail in formation to assert a unified maritime presence during Exercise ALON. — Photo from the AFP

MANILA, Philippines — No Chinese vessels were sighted during the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) joint activity with Australian and Canadian counterparts in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), a military official said Thursday.

This contrasts with previous AFP exercises with allies, where Chinese warships were typically observed.

“There were no Chinese [ships] which came near; they have not monitored anything,” Lt. Col. John Paul Salgado, assistant chief of the AFP public affairs office, said in a phone interview with Inquirer.

The AFP’s guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal was joined by Australia’s guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane and Canada’s frigate HMCS Ville de Québec.

The activity, which began Tuesday off Lubang Island in Mindoro, was still underway west of Palawan as of Thursday, Salgado said.

The maritime exercise forms part of “Alon” (Amphibious Landing Operations), the biennial drills between Manila and Canberra, which involve more than 3,600 personnel. Former Australian ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu described it as Australia’s largest military exercise outside its territory this year.

READ: PH, Australia to resume biennial military drills in August – envoy

The drills with Australia also mark the AFP’s second joint maritime activity in the WPS this month.

Change of China’s behavior 

On Aug. 4, two People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-Navy) warships were monitored during the AFP’s joint patrol with India in the WPS.

Salgado previously said the PLA-Navy vessels did not interfere with the exercise.

READ: 2 Chinese warships spotted monitoring Manila-New Delhi joint sail

Such patrols have also led to noticeable changes in the behavior of Chinese ships in the WPS, according to Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the WPS.

“So we have noticed that for every I mentioned earlier, for every MCA (maritime cooperative activity), there is a change in their actions,” Trinidad said in a regular military press conference on Tuesday.

“There are no coercive and aggressive actions being conducted by the Chinese coast guard and the PLA-Navy against our ships … and our aircraft,” he added.

Trinidad also said more maritime cooperative activities with its allies are expected this year.

“This, I can say, is the direction of the AFP under the current administration,” he added.

Australia ranks third in WPS exercises, after US

In 2025, Australia deployed assets for multilateral patrols in the WPS twice.

Since 2023, when regular joint activities began, Australia has participated in six Maritime Cooperation Activities (MCA) and multilateral maritime cooperative activities (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea alongside the Philippines.

Australia ranks third in foreign participation in WPS operations since 2023, behind the United States, which joined 16 times, and Japan, which had a presence eight times, according to AFP data.

Canberra first conducted its bilateral sail with Manila in the WPS in November 2023. It later joined multilateral patrols there in April, August, and September 2024, and again in February and April 2025.

Australia holds a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with the Philippines, similar to Manila’s Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States.

In addition to Australia, Japan also has an SOVFA with the Philippines, formally known as the Reciprocal Access Agreement, which will take effect on September 11.

READ: PH, Japan take key step in activating visiting forces pact

READ: Australian official to visit Philippines, Malaysia to boost defense ties

To further strengthen Canberra’s defense ties with Manila, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles will meet with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr./mcm