The U.S. joined the Philippines and two other regional allies on Sunday in a series of naval drills in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing are locked in a bitter territorial dispute.
A joint statement signed by the countries’ defense chiefs said the activity was a demonstration of their “collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and has built up and fortified a number of artificial military bases there, including within the Philippines’ internationally recognized EEZ.
Sunday’s exercises took place within this 200-nautical mile zone. Participating vessels included Australian destroyer HMAS Warramunga, Japanese destroyer JS Akebono, Philippine guided-missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna and patrol ship BRP Valentin Diaz, and American littoral combat ship USS Mobile.
“Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States uphold the right of freedom of navigation and overflight, and respect for maritime rights under international law, reflected in the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the joint statement read.
The exercises were intended to boost the interoperability of the participating countries’ naval forces in terms of tactics, techniques, procedures, and doctrines, the statement said.
It stressed that participants “stand with all nations in safeguarding the international order—based on the rule of law—that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region.”
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A pair of Chinese warships were observed operating about seven miles from the multinational flotilla during the first exercise, the Philippine military’s chief of staff, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., said Monday in a press briefing.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s pushback against Beijing’s expansive activities in this zone over the past year, and China’s often forceful counterresponse, have led to dramatic confrontations between the neighbors.
Chinese Coast Guard water cannons injured sailors during a routine supply mission to a disputed Philippine outpost last month, prompting condemnation from several countries including those who took part in Sunday’s drill.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Armed Forces of the Philippines did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
China has accused the U.S. of using its allies as pawns to stir up trouble on its doorstep with an eye toward weakening Beijing.
Responding to news of plans for Washington and Tokyo to accompany Manila on joint patrols later this year, Chinese state media said last month the U.S.-Japan alliance was “evolving into an axis of evil” and that the U.S. was “encouraging the Philippines to incite chaos in the South China Sea.”
Japan, like the Philippines, shares a mutual defense treaty with the U.S. and has a longstanding territorial dispute with China. The U.S. has affirmed its defense commitments extend to the South China Sea, in the case of the Philippines, and to the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Marcos will join U.S. President Joe Bien on Thursday in the first-ever trilateral summit for the countries.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.