Philippines, US, Japan, Australia hold maritime drills as tension lingers in West PH Sea

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, the United States, Australia, and Japan successfully engaged in the first multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, April 7, “with no untoward incident that happened.”

In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said all planned exercises were conducted within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Those who joined included the AFP, United States Indo-Pacific Command, Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Japan Self-Defense Forces.

The AFP said, “The MMCA demonstrated the participating countries’ commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific through interoperability exercises in the maritime domain.”

“It will also contribute greatly to the AFP’s capability development,” it added.

In a joint statement on Saturday, April 6, the four countries said that the activity is “in support of a free and open Indo-pacific,” adding that they seek to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, and respect for maritime rights under international law.”

The MMCA said they, “will strengthen the interoperability of our defense/armed forces doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures.”

Play Video

The activities included communication, photo exercises, division tactics, or Office of the Watch maneuver.

“These activities were designed to enhance the different forces’ abilities to work together effectively in maritime scenarios,” AFP said.

The following naval vessels and aircraft from the Philippines, US, Japan, and Australia participated:

• BRP Gregorio Del Pilar with AW109 helicopter, BRP Antonio Luna with AW159 Wildcat ASW helicopter, and BRP Valentin Diaz from the Philippine Navy
• US Navy’s USS Mobile and P-8A Poseidon
• The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Warramunga
• The Royal Australian Air Force’s P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft
• Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces’ JS Akebono

The MMCA came amid increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea. On Thursday, April 4, two Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ships harassed Filipino fisherfolk within the vicinity of Recto Bank. Just a few weeks earlier on March 23, CCG attacked military-contracted vessel Unaizah May 4, with water cannons for an hour. – Rappler.com