Combined armed and defense forces from the Philippines, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States conducted a maritime patrol in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Manila on Saturday, Sept. 28, the same day that China announced it was holding a naval drill near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal).
The fourth multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines saw the participation of New Zealand in the coordinated sail for the first time since it was launched last year amid China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, part of which includes the West Philippine Sea (WPS) which is within Manila's 200-nautical mile EEZ.
General Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the coordinated patrol demonstrated the participating nations' "collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific."
Details as to what assets were involved and where exactly they sailed were not divulged but Brawner said that the naval and air force units of the participating nations "will operate together enhancing cooperation and interoperability between our armed forces."
Australia's Ministry of Defence said it deployed Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Sydney and a Royal Australian Air Force anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8A Poseidon for the activity.
Brawner said the activity "will be conducted in a manner consistent with international law and with due regard to the safety of navigation and the rights and interests of other States."
"This underscores our shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," the military chief said.
As this developed, China announced that it also conducted a naval drill near the Scarborough Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal, on the same day that the MMCA was held.
The shoal, located 124 nautical miles from Palawan, has been a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fishermen until Chinese vessels blocked the lone entrance at the shoal's lagoon, restricting access for other nations.
China has been claiming almost the entire South China Sea as it continues to ignore a 2016 arbitral ruling which invalidated their dash-line-based claims in favor of the Philippines' protest.
According to China's Southern Theater Command, it organized naval and air forces to conduct "routine reconnaissance, early warning, and sea-air patrol exercises near the waters surrounding China's Huangyan Island," the name it calls Scarborough Shoal.
"Certain individual external countries are stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, creating instability in the region," it said.
"The theater's troops remain on high alert, resolutely defending national sovereign security and maritime rights, and are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea," it added.