Despite a previous denial by the National Maritime Council (NMC), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday, Aug. 4, confirmed that Chinese naval forces carried out actual military exercises near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) recently, marking the first time it directly observed such activity after alleged repeated false claims by Beijing about holding drills in the area.

AFP spokesperson for WPS retired admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said military forces monitored the activity conducted by the People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) on July 31 and Aug. 1.

“After numerous false narratives by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) about conducting drills in Bajo de Masinloc, the AFP was able to monitor on July 31 and Aug. 1 the conduct of drills by the PLA Navy consisting of five warships, one replenishment ship, two hovercraft, two helicopters, and an unidentified number of fighter aircraft,” Trinidad said.

“As to whether this is a sustainable activity, it is questionable,” he added.

Earlier, NMC spokesperson Undersecretary Alexander Lopez claimed that reports indicating China conducted drills in and around Bajo de Masinloc “are not credible,” citing supposed intelligence information from the AFP and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

On the same day that China held its drills, Trinidad disclosed that a Philippine Air Force (PAF) F-27 Fokker conducting a maritime domain awareness flight over Bajo de Masinloc received radio communications from Chinese forces.

“The latest report was that an F-27 Fokker aircraft from the Philippine Air Force conducted maritime domain awareness flights over Bajo de Masinloc. They received radio communications from the PLA Navy and the PLA Air Force,” he said, noting the incident occurred on Aug. 1.

He said the PAF aircraft challenged the presence of Chinese military assets operating in Philippine waters. Asked whether the incident was alarming, Trinidad said AFP forces regularly assert the country's rights in the WPS.

“The illegal presence of the PLA Navy, the Chinese Coast Guard, and the maritime militia in our waters is being constantly challenged not only by the Air Force, not only by the Navy, but by the AFP in general,” he said.

The AFP made the disclosure about the Chinese drills as it reported that the Chinese presence in the WPS remained steady in July. The Philippine Navy (PN) monitored 3,071 domestic vessels and 17,678 foreign vessels operating within the country's maritime domain from July 1 to 31.

Of the number, the AFP spotted 48 Chinese vessels in four key areas of WPS, including 22 vessels in Bajo de Masinloc, 14 in Ayungin Shoal, eight near Pag-asa Islands, and four in Escoda Shoal.

Meanwhile, Teodoro underscored that China’s exercises in Bajo de Masinloc were carried out a few days after the 17th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) involving the Philippines, the United States, and Japan in waters west of Zambales and east of Bajo de Masinloc from June 21 to 25.

The exercise involved one PN warship, PAF and PN aircraft, two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessels, one Japanese warship, two United States Coast Guard cutters, and the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group.

The joint activities included cross deck landings, replenishment at sea, communications exercises, anti-submarine warfare, and other interoperability drills between Philippine, American, and Japanese forces.

Trinidad clarified that the MMCA was not organized in response to recent Chinese harassment incidents in the WPS.

“MMCAs are programmed, planned, and approved before their conduct. For the entire year, we already have the schedule for different MMCAs which will be announced appropriately,” he said.

Despite the continued presence of Chinese vessels, Trinidad said no interference was recorded during the multinational activity.

“There was presence monitored over the horizon but they did not in any way interfere with the conduct of the MMCA,” he said.

According to Trinidad, the activity underscored that the Philippines has reliable security partners.

“The message to the entire world, not to any particular country, is that the Philippines is not alone in its stand of supporting international law,” he said. “Our modernization program is on track. We can now plug and play with modern militaries. Activities like this will continue in the near future.”