PH, US hold maritime drills in South China Sea

Philippine Air Force and US Pacific Air Forces senior officers and personnel link arms in front of an FA-50 fighter jet (left) and an F-16 fighter jet during the opening of Cope Thunder Philippines 2025-1 at Clark Freeport in Pampanga. —Inquirer file photo/Grig C. Montegrande

MANILA, Philippines — Coast Guard vessels of the Philippines and the United States have taken part for the first time in joint maritime exercises with naval and air force units in the contested South China Sea, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Wednesday.

The exercises, held on Tuesday in waters off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro, involved the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

READ: More drills between PH, US troops set in Batanes, Palawan

The “maritime cooperative activity,” or MCA, which was the second for the year and sixth overall since both countries launched the joint activities in 2023, included communication drills and search-and-rescue scenarios, the AFP said.

“Joint activities like the MCA reaffirm the AFP’s commitment to modernizing its capabilities and strengthening defense partnerships to secure our national and regional maritime interests,” AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said. —Nestor  Corrales