THE Philippines joined four other countries on Saturday in the largest joint patrol to date as China conducted its own naval and air exercises near Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) on the same day.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the combined armed and defense forces of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States successfully conducted the one-day joint patrol inside the country's exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Brawner said the naval and air force units of participating nations "operated together, enhancing cooperation and interoperability." He added that the joint sail was 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)," he said.

Brawner said this latest iteration, conducted within the vicinity of the West Philippine Sea under the area of operations of the Northern Luzon Command, introduced enhanced exercises designed to improve interoperability among participating forces.

He said New Zealand joined the activity for the first time, adding a new dimension to the collaborative efforts.

Activities included pre-sail briefings, communication exercises (Commex), cross-deck exercises, division tactics/officer of the watch (Divtacs/OOW) drills, photographic exercises (Photoex), replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches, maritime domain awareness (MDA) exercises, and contact reporting, all designed to refine operational readiness and collaborative capabilities.

The activity involved a range of naval and aerial assets, including the Philippine Navy's BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35), one AW109 helicopter, and Philippine Air Force search and rescue assets, alongside the United States USS Howard (DDG83) and two helicopters, Australia's HMAS Sydney (D48), a P-8 Poseidon aircraft, and one helicopter, Japan's JS Sazanami (DD113), and New Zealand's HMNZS Aotearoa (A-11).

Japan's defense ministry said in a statement Saturday that the joint drills involving the five countries took place in the South China Sea.

Its maritime destroyer Sazanami participated in the exercises, the ministry said.

In its own statement, the United States said the maritime exercises conducted with its allies demonstrated "a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Australia's defense department separately confirmed Saturday that the HMAS Sydney and a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft participated in exercises aimed at "upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight."

Chinese naval and air forces, meanwhile, conducted patrols around Scarborough Shoal on Saturday after a slew of tense encounters with the Philippines in the disputed waterway in recent months.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims of several Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines among them, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Its claims include the waters around Scarborough Shoal — which Beijing seized from Manila in 2012 — where the Chinese military's Southern Theater Command said Saturday it held air and sea patrols.

The triangular chain of reefs and rocks is 240 kilometers west of Luzon and nearly 900 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese land mass of Hainan.

Beijing said the training activities around the shoal included "reconnaissance, early warning, and air-sea patrols."

"Certain countries outside the region are stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, creating instability in the region," the Southern Theater Command said in a statement.

"China holds indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island and its adjacent waters," it added, using the Chinese name for Scarborough Shoal.

Tensions between China and the Philippines have flared in the past few months during a series of confrontations in the waters around the contested Ayugin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Escoda (Sabina) Shoal.

In July, the two sides said they had reached a provisional deal on resupply missions to a Philippine ship, the Sierra Madre, which is grounded on Ayungin Shoal with a garrison on board, aimed at asserting Manila's claims to the reef.

Beijing said Friday it had "supervised" a Philippine ship as it delivered supplies as part of a resupply mission to the grounded vessel at the shoal.

New Zealand affirms commitment to regional stability in joint MMCA.

The New Zealand government on Saturday said the joint sail among the Philippines, Australia, the United States, Japan, and its naval force is a demonstration of the five nations' commitment to stability in the region.

In a statement sent to the Philippine News Agency, the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) confirmed that the multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA), led by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, was held in the West Philippine Sea.

"Defense cooperation with partners in our region is commonplace," it said. "It is an opportunity for the participants to strengthen the defense cooperation between them and support regional stability while at all times observing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."

The Royal New Zealand Navy deployed its maritime sustainment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa for the activity, which the NZDF said "got underway on September 28 in the South China Sea."

For the NZDF, its participation provides an opportunity for New Zealand "to strengthen interoperability in the maritime context" with the participating states.

HMNZS Aotearoa has been deployed in the Indo-Pacific region since June and has conducted regional engagements, training exercises and operations.

This is the first time that New Zealand deployed a military asset to the Philippine-led MMCA since it was launched in April and followed by two other sails with Canada, the US, Japan, and Australia.

Following the announcement of the MMCA Saturday morning, the People's Liberation Army said it will conduct military drills in the South China Sea and patrols around the Scarborough Shoal, a feature located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.with AFP

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