PH, US, Japan complete joint drills in WPS as China vessel observes

Updated Sun, March 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM Published Fri, March 28, 2025 at 5:54 PM

The Philippines, United States, and Japan successfully completed their joint military drills in the West Philippine Sea on March 28, 2025, east of Bajo de Masinloc.

A Chinese frigate, identified as a Type 054A Jiangkai II-Class missile frigate with bow number 574, observed the drills and attempted to approach the exercise area.

Philippine Navy Commander Irvin Ian Robles stated that the Chinese warship was challenged and eventually responded that it was conducting normal navigation.

These multilateral maritime cooperative activities (MMCA) aimed to boost crisis readiness and included drills such as communications checks, maritime domain awareness, and division tactics.

The drills coincided with US defense chief Pete Hegseth's visit to Manila, where he emphasized that the joint sailing sends signals of cooperation and increases strategic dilemmas for adversaries.

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