MANILA -- The navies of the Philippines, the United States and Japan sailed together and held joint drills in the West Philippine Sea on Friday.

This marked the Philippines’ eighth Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) with its security ally, the US, and partner nations since its launch in April last year.

The exercise was conducted southeast of Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal.

Philippines-US joint air patrols underway over West PH Sea

It involved the Philippine Navy’s guided missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal, the United States Navy’s missile guided destroyer USS Shoup, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s multi-mission frigate JS Noshiro.

One of the exercises conducted was the personnel exchange, where participating ships launched their rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) to transfer their personnel to another country’s vessel.

Filipino-American Mark Rufo, Corps Master Navigation of the USS Shoup, was among those who temporarily transferred to the BRP Jose Rizal.

“Maganda. Everything here is fantastic,” Rufo said of the Philippine warship. “It’s good na nakita ko ang Navy dito. Maganda.”

Exercises like the MMCA are important in strengthening the interoperability of the navies of the three countries in responding to challenges, and ensuring peace and stability in the region.

“We are really proud to support our allies in the Indo-Pacific and it goes so far to build these relationships and get us closer to our goal which is a free and open Indo-Pacific for all of us,” USS Shoup Air Department Detachment Officer Lt. Alexander Horvath said.

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Manila’s multipurpose naval helicopter, the Agusta Westland 109, was flown for the rotary flight operations, photo exercise, and maritime domain awareness.

Washington’s multi-mission naval helicopter MH60-R and maritime patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon were also deployed.

“We were able to safely conduct the serials and successful naman lahat,” Commander Irvin Ian Robles, commanding officer of the BRP Jose Rizal, told reporters onboard the Philippine warship. 

“In this type of activity, we are trying to test out the capabilities na meron tayo ngayon given our new platforms. I think we are at par with other countries now that we have modern platforms,” he added.

“We were able to interoperate with them. The ability to interoperate with like-minded countries is very important kasi this shows we are in line sa isang rules-based order and we follow freedom of navigation,” he further said. 

Even before the joint drills were carried out, China already made its presence felt.

PLA NAVY SHIP

A People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel with bow number 574 was spotted monitoring the navies of the Philippines, the US and Japan—its closest distance being eight nautical miles away from the exercise area.

“This morning, before arrival to the rendezvous point, we were able to detect the presence of a Chinese frigate, a Jiangkai-class Type 054 frigate,” Robles said.

The Chinese warship was lurking on the sidelines of the MMCA and did not interfere with the exercise, he added.

The Philippine Navy questioned its presence through radio challenges.

“Initially, hindi sila kaagad nagrespond, but dahil sa constant na pagchallenge sa kanila, they responded that they are just conducting normal navigation,” Robles noted.

Chinese navy ships spotted in PH-US-Canada patrols in West PH Sea

“Malawak ang dagat. Ang presence nila from time to time ay talagang nandiyan, so there’s always a possibility ng presence ng other navies, even from other countries,” he continued.

In a statement, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. noted that the MMCA continuously highlights the vital improvements in the military’s coordination, tactics, and shared maritime awareness.

“Every iteration strengthens our capacity to respond to maritime security challenges while reinforcing our collective ability to safeguard our national interests,” Brawner said.