The Philippine and US coast guards participated for the first time in joint military drills, Manila’s armed forces said Wednesday, joining broader exercises held by the two allies in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost the entire disputed waterway, through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.
The “maritime cooperative activity” was held Tuesday in waters off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro in the western Philippines.
The two countries’ coast guards have held joint exercises before, but never as part of combined military drills which Manila’s armed forces said reflected a “growing whole-of-nation approach to maritime cooperation”.
The Philippine coast guard deployed its 97-meter (320-foot) ship BRP Melchora Aquino and 44-meter ship BRP Malapascua while the US coast guard used the cutter Stratton, the Philippine military said in the statement.
