Chinese ships monitored during PH drills with like-minded nations

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Aotearoa (A11) and the US Navy’s USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) conduct a fueling-at-sea exercise during the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity in the West Philippine Sea on Oct. 30. (Photo by A1C Castro PAF/PAOAFP)

MANILA, Philippines — At least five Chinese vessels were monitored as warships of the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States held their two-day joint exercise in an undisclosed area of the West Philippine Sea on Thursday and Friday.

The drills, part of the Philippine-led Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) launched in 2024, involved coordinated sea and air operations as well as antisubmarine-warfare, replenishment-at-sea, and crossdeck-landing drills.

Vessels of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) were seen throughout the two-day exercise, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Andres, operations officer of guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF150).

READ: PH wraps up West Philippine Sea drills with NZ, US, Australia

Drones sighted

One of them, Plan No. 165, came within 5.6 kilometers to 9 kilometers (3 nautical miles to 5 nautical miles) of the Jose Rizal.

As a destroyer, the guided-missile ship is larger and more heavily armed than the Philippine frigate, which had encountered that vessel every now and then in the West Philippine Sea.

“There were instances when we needed to adjust our course during flight operations,” Andres told reporters, referring to the maneuvering of aircraft on the deck of the Jose Rizal.

He said drones were also spotted on Thursday evening flying above the Jose Rizal, although their origin had yet to be confirmed.

“This would only pose a risk [to our troops] if the drones were weaponized,” Andres said. “We have existing countermeasures against drone attacks.”

‘Interested in us’

Cmdr. Rob Welford, commanding officer of the HMNZS Aotearoa (A11) of New Zealand, confirmed the presence of Chinese ships.

“They were interested in us,” he said. “We come on these deployments to operate with our friends. If someone else feels that’s provocative, that’s up to them.”

The other participating warships were the HMAS Ballarat (FFH155) of Australia and USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) of the US Navy. Philippine aircraft AW159 Wildcat and A-29B Super Tucano also joined the exercises.

Welford said he saw marked improvements in the interoperability of the ships. He described the exercises as “more complex” than the first MMCA.

“A year ago, we did some straightforward maneuvers. This time, we were doing antisubmarine exercises. The more complicated you make your training, the easier everything becomes,” he said.