The situation in the South China Sea remains tense. The trilateral maritime exercise involving the United States, the Philippines, and France entered its third day, as American and Philippine warships encountered Chinese naval vessels shortly after entering the South China Sea beyond the territorial waters of the Philippines on Saturday (April 27th). As of the time of reporting, Chinese naval ships have been trailing the American and Philippine warships for over 10 hours.
On Thursday (April 25th), the trilateral maritime exercise (MME) began with France dispatching the patrol ship “Vendémiaire,” the Philippines deploying the Tarlac-class landing platform dock “BRP Davao del Sur” and the coastal patrol vessel “BRP Ramon Alcaraz”, and the United States sending the amphibious transport dock “USS Harpers Ferry” to participate in the exercise.
A journalist from the Central News Agency boarded the “BRP Davao del Sur” to cover the 6-day trilateral maritime exercise involving the United States, the Philippines, and France.
On April 25th and 26th, American and Philippine warships conducted zone tactical, officer-of-the-watch maneuvers, cross-deck exercises, and replenishment at sea (RAS) in the Sulu Sea northeast of Palawan Island in the Philippines.
Shortly after the American and Philippine warships left the Philippine territorial waters early on Saturday morning, around 6 a.m., the Chinese naval electronic reconnaissance ship “Tianwangxing” with hull number 793 of the Type 815 class began trailing the three vessels, including the “BRP Davao del Sur,” “BRP Ramon Alcaraz,” and “USS Harpers Ferry.”
Observing from the “BRP Davao del Sur,” the “Tianwangxing” sailed close to the American and Philippine warships, trailing them at a visible distance.
Commander Marco Sandalo of the “BRP Davao del Sur” was interviewed around 11 a.m., stating that the “Tianwangxing” continued to follow at a distance of 3 to 6 nautical miles from the “BRP Davao del Sur.” Despite their presence, the scheduled cross-deck exercises between the American and Philippine vessels proceeded smoothly, enhancing the coordinated combat capabilities between the participating ships. Commander Sandalo mentioned, “Their (Chinese warships) presence did not pose a threat to us.”
He indicated that since the “Tianwangxing” did not obstruct or interfere with the exercises or navigation of the American and Philippine vessels and did not affect navigation safety, the Philippine warships did not assert sovereignty through radio broadcasts but had reported the situation to military and government officials.
As for the French patrol ship “Vendémiaire,” which did not participate in the exercise that day, Commander Sandalo declined to disclose the whereabouts of the ship, only saying that the “Vendémiaire” would return to join the exercise later. The US Navy amphibious transport dock “USS Somerset” will also join the exercise in the coming days.
The Philippines and the United States are currently conducting the three-week “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” (Balikatan) large-scale joint military exercise. This year’s exercise mobilized over 16,800 American, Filipino, and Australian troops, with the participation of a French Navy patrol ship, surpassing the scale of previous years.
The sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China have been escalating continuously. In this year’s military exercise, the United States and the Philippines jointly held a trilateral maritime exercise with France for the first time. This also marks the first expansion of the “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” exercise area beyond the territorial waters of the Philippines, prompting external scrutiny as to whether Manila’s allies are preparing for potential conflicts or accidental clashes in the South China Sea.
(Translated from Central News Agency)