Two Chinese naval vessels were observed monitoring a joint maritime exercise involving the Philippines, the United States and Australia near Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea on Monday afternoon, Philippine authorities said.
The ships, identified as belonging to the People’s Liberation Army Navy, were seen during the 14th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA). According to Captain Adrian Vargas, Executive Officer of the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua, the Chinese ships maintained distance from the exercise area.
“Bigla na lang silang lumitaw. So far, hindi naman sila lumapit sa ating ‘operation box.’
Tuloy-tuloy pa rin naman ‘yung ating naging activity. Wala namang radio challenge. They are shadowing what we are doing. We presume that they are exercising their freedom of navigation, so we opted not to challenge since hindi naman sila nag-distract sa ating activity,” Vargas said.
Despite the presence of the Chinese vessels, the maritime drills proceeded without disruption.
The 14th MMCA involved units from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, United States Indo-Pacific Command and the Australian Defence Force.
Participating forces conducted a series of coordinated naval activities, including communication drills, maritime domain awareness operations, joint patrols, division tactics, photo exercises, replenishment at sea and a post-activity debriefing.
Four surface vessels were deployed: the PCG’s flagship BRP Teresa Magbanua; the Philippine Navy’s BRP Diego Silang, marking its first MMCA participation since its commissioning in December; the USS Dewey from the United States; and HMAS Toowoomba from Australia. Air assets from the three nations also supported the drills.
Captain Alvin Dagalea, commanding officer of BRP Teresa Magbanua, said the joint exercises serve as preparation for the PCG’s participation in the upcoming Rim of the Pacific Exercise.
“Pinapakita natin ‘yung ating kapasidad ng Coast Guard, also the other participating units like the Philippine Navy. We are showing our capability in terms of security and safety sa ating maritime jurisdictions, especially in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
RIMPAC 2026, set for June to July primarily in and around Hawaii, will mark the 30th iteration of the world’s largest international maritime exercise. Organized by the United States Indo-Pacific Command, it is expected to include 37 invited nations and coincide with the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Following the conclusion of the 14th MMCA, the PCG said preparations are underway for the 15th edition of the activity scheduled for Feb. 23 to 27, 2026. The BRP Teresa Magbanua is expected to continue operations, with Japan and the United States projected to join the next round of drills aimed at promoting maritime security and safety within Philippine waters.