China’s military announced on Saturday that it had conducted a patrol in the South China Sea on Friday, coinciding with a joint maritime exercise between the Philippines, the United States, and Japan — and a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Manila.
The patrol, carried out by the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command, came as China accused the Philippines of destabilizing the region through foreign-backed joint patrols and what it called “illegal claims.”
While the Philippine Embassy in Beijing and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. have yet to comment, Brawner earlier said that the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) enhances regional security and strengthens coordination among the participating navies.
“These exercises improve our ability to respond to maritime threats and reinforce our national interests,” Brawner stated, emphasizing the ongoing enhancement in shared maritime awareness and interoperability.
The trilateral activity took place in the West Philippine Sea, part of the larger Indo-Pacific region. Hegseth, during a courtesy call to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., reiterated Washington’s support and stressed the importance of deterrence amid growing regional tensions.
“Peace through strength is essential, especially considering the threats posed by communist China,” said Hegseth. “Allies must stand united to ensure freedom of navigation, particularly in contested waters.”
China maintains sweeping claims over nearly all of the South China Sea — overlapping with maritime zones of several Southeast Asian nations. However, in 2016, the Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled that China’s “historic rights” claim has no legal basis. China has since rejected the ruling, calling it “invalid.”
President Marcos has repeatedly asserted that the West Philippine Sea belongs to the Filipino people and vowed to defend the nation’s sovereignty amid rising tensions with Beijing.