For the first time, the Philippines and the United States have conducted joint maritime drills involving both nations’ coast guard vessels, along with naval and air force units, in the disputed South China Sea. 

The exercises took place on Tuesday in waters off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro, according to a statement released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday.

The drills featured the Philippine Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard working alongside the US Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. This marked the second joint “maritime cooperative activity” (MCA) of 2025 and the sixth since the initiative began in 2023.

The MCA included communications exercises and search-and-rescue scenarios aimed at boosting operational coordination between the two allies.

“Joint activities like the MCA reaffirm the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ commitment to modernising its capabilities and strengthening defence partnerships to secure our national and regional maritime interests,” AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner said.

The exercises come amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China over contested claims in the South China Sea — a strategic waterway through which over $3 trillion worth of global trade flows annually.

Despite a 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal rejecting Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the region, China has continued to assert its authority and does not recognise the decision, further fuelling regional disputes.

Melissa Enoch

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