India, Philippines stage joint naval drill in disputed South China Sea

Manila: India and the Philippines have staged joint naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea for the first time, a high-profile military deployment that antagonised China.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday that the two-day joint naval sail and exercises which began Sunday went successfully, and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India’s military in more joint maneuvers in the future.

Asked if Chinese forces carried out any action in response, Brawner said without elaborating that “we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already.”

Two Chinese navy ships, including a guided-missile destroyer, were spotted about 25 nautical miles from one of two Philippine navy frigates that participated in the joint sail on Sunday, the Philippine military said.

The Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said it conducted routine patrols in the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday and added that it remains resolute in defending China’s territory and maritime rights and interests. Without mentioning India by name, the Southern Theater Command accused the Philippines of drawing in outside countries to organise joint patrols that it said undermine regional peace and stability.

China’s Foreign Ministry said territorial disputes should be resolved by those directly involved without any third-party intervention.

Beijing’s expansive claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global trade route, have led to tense confrontations with other claimant states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters.

Brawner said the Philippines has to boost deterrence to prevent war. “The way to do that is, number one, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has to be strengthened through modernisation, and secondly, we need to partner with like-minded nations and that’s what we’re doing with India,” he said last week.

During a reception on board an Indian navy tanker, the INS Shakti, on Thursday, Brawner said the vessel’s port call in Manila was more than ceremonial. It “sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

Brawner welcomed the deepening of relations between the two Asian countries and “reaffirmed the shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability and a rules-based international order in one of the world’s most geopolitically sensitive regions.”

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos left Monday for a five-day state visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to boost defence, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism and pharmaceutical industry engagements.