A Chinese warship was photographed keeping tabs on a naval exercise staged by the U.S. and its key Pacific allies in the South China Sea.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment.
Why It Matters
This was the first such exercise between these four nations since April 2024. The exercise aimed to boost force interoperability and demonstrate support for the Philippines amid China's increasing and at times forceful activities inside the Southeast Asian country's exclusive economic zone. China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, citing historical rights, and has rejected a 2016 arbitral ruling that favored the Philippines.
What To Know
The Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) was conducted on Wednesday by elements of the U.S., Philippine, and Australian navies and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The MCA demonstrated participating countries' "collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific," said a statement by the U.S. Navy's Japan-headquartered Seventh Fleet.
Taking part were the American guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold and a P-8A Poseidon patrol plane, the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart and a Seahawk helicopter, the Japanese destroyer JS Akizuki and a SH-60K variant of the Seahawk, and the Philippine guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal.
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Some distance away, a ship belonging to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy monitored the activity. The Seventh Fleet identified the ship as Jiankai-II class guided missile frigate the Dali.
China has strongly condemned past U.S.-allied military cooperation in its region, accusing "outside forces" of stirring up trouble and urging the Philippines to settle the territorial dispute through bilateral talks.
The latest MCA came just a day after Philippine FA-50 fighter jets joined a pair of U.S. B-1B bombers for drills over the U.S. defense treaty ally's maritime zone.
Li Jianjian, spokesperson for the PLA's Southern Theater Command, called the exercise "an attempt to undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea region."
What People Are Saying
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, wrote on X: "Flush with greater fleet capacity, the People's Liberation Army Navy could maintain such ops."
Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. chief of staff, Philippine military, said in a statement: "This activity demonstrates the strong cooperation and interoperability among our nations' armed forces. Conducted in accordance with international law, the MMCA ensures safe navigation while respecting the rights and interests of all states."
What's Next?
China tensions are a major driver of the $35 billion military modernization program is hopes to complete over the next decade.
During U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's introductory call with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, on Wednesday, Hegseth reaffirmed that the countries' 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty remains "ironclad" and promised close coordination, according to a Pentagon press release.
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