By Focus | 2025-11-18

The Philippines, Japan and the United States held joint maritime drills in the South China Sea November 14–15. The exercises highlighted growing security cooperation among allies as China sent a bomber formation on a parallel patrol.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on November 16 the latest Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) demonstrated "growing regional unity and cooperation" with partners. Parts of the South China Sea are known in Manila as the West Philippine Sea.

It marks the eighth MMCA this year and the 13th since its inception in April 2024. Past iterations also included troops from Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

During the drills, the AFP deployed its two missile-capable frigates, the BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna, and an AW159 helicopter. The Philippine Coast Guard's BRP Melchora Aquino and BRP Cape San Agustin also supported the mission.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) deployed its Murasame-class destroyer JS Akebono and an SH-60K Seahawk helicopter.

US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) participated with its Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, composed of the USS Nimitz, USS Wayne Meyer, USS Gridley and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee.

The continuing MMCA series underscores Manila's "commitment to safeguarding the nation's sovereign rights and advancing collective defense readiness alongside trusted partners," the AFP statement said.

"These engagements highlight not only the Philippines' steadfast resolve to defend its maritime domains but also its shared commitment with partners to strengthen deterrence, enhance interoperability and uphold freedom of navigation under a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific," it said.

The participating forces carried out a series of coordinated maritime and aerial operations, according to the AFP.

The exercises included rendezvous procedures, communications checks, maritime domain awareness contact reporting, resupply at sea, anti-submarine warfare, cross-deck landing, division tactics, formation maneuvers, a photo exercise and a final integrated exercise.

Beijing's claims

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said it deployed a bomber formation to conduct "routine patrol operations" in the South China Sea on November 14. A PLA spokesperson accused the Philippines of "stirring up trouble" and undermining regional stability.

The MMCA drills come amid continuing Chinese harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.

Chinese coast guard and maritime militia vessels regularly engage in blocking maneuvers, laser pointing, water cannon firing and ramming of Philippine Coast Guard vessels and supply boats aiding Filipino fishing vessels.

Beijing claims more than 80% of the South China Sea, including maritime territories and features claimed by other regional countries and those within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone.

An international arbitral court in 2016 rejected China's expansive territorial claims, but Beijing refuses to honor the ruling.

"It is regrettable that incidents continue to occur in the West Philippine Sea which endanger the lives of Philippine personnel and compromise the safety of our vessels and aircraft," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said October 26 at the ASEAN-US summit in Kuala Lumpur.

"These include dangerous maneuvers and the coercive use of tools and equipment to interfere with or obstruct legitimate and routine Philippine activities in our own maritime zones and airspace, as guaranteed under international law, particularly UNCLOS [the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]."

Strengthening territorial defense

The United States is a key partner for the Philippines as it works to strengthen its territorial defense and project deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

The US Marine Corps earlier this month temporarily deployed a unit of Reaper drones to support Philippine maritime security efforts, according to news reports.

The unit was deployed to support "Philippine regional maritime security," a Marine Corps Forces Pacific spokesperson confirmed, USNI News reported November 13.

"At the request of the Philippine government, Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 1 is temporarily deployed to the Philippines to support Philippine regional maritime security through shared maritime domain awareness," a Marine Corps spokesperson told Defense News in a statement.

"The temporary stationing of unarmed MQ-9As to the Philippines demonstrates mutual commitment to improving the collective maritime security and supports our common goal for a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement said.

Remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper drones are employed primarily as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset, according to the US Air Force. They can also perform close air support, combat search and rescue, convoy and raid overwatch, among other irregular warfare operations.

Known for its stealth and endurance, Reapers carry an array of wide-range sensors, they are equipped with a multi-mode communications suite, can fly nonstop for over 27 hours and have a traveling range of over 1,000 miles.

The Pentagon in September established an MQ-9 Reaper unit to be permanently based at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea as a deterrent to potential regional threats.