Philippines, India hold first joint sail in South China Sea
The Philippines has conducted 'maritime cooperative activities' with foreign navies since late 2023 as part of its push to counter China's expansive claims in the waterway, including joint sails with treaty ally the United States, as well as Japan, Australia, France and Canada.
Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said the idea for the two-day joint sail, which started on Sunday and was inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, came about when he met his counterpart in India in March.
'We did not experience any untoward incidents, but there are still those shadowing us - as we had already expected,' Brawner told reporters, without naming China.
China's foreign ministry said in a statement that territorial and maritime disputes should be resolved between the countries directly involved and no third party should intervene.
Indian navy ships that took part in the first joint sail of the two countries included guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, tanker INS Shakti and corvette INS Kiltan. The Philippines deployed two frigates, BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Jose Rizal.
The exercise coincided with Marcos' departure for a five-day trip to India, where he said he will look to deepen maritime ties and seek cooperation on sectors including defense, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, overlapping with maritime zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The waterway is a strategic shipping route where $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce takes place.
A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims have no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Russia breaks ground for Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant
Russia on Friday launched work to build the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, the world's biggest uranium producer and vast Central Asian state where Moscow, Beijing and Europe are all vying for influence. Russia has historically been the sole dominant player in the region and is trying to maintain its leading position, while China has invested billions of dollars as part of its 'Belt and Road Initiative.' In a joint statement, Kazakhstan and Russia's nuclear agencies said that they had started 'engineering surveys to select the optimal site and prepare project documentation for the construction of a large-capacity nuclear power plant.' 'This project is Kazakhstan's strategic choice and a driver of long-term economic growth for the region and the country as a whole,' said the head of the Kazakh nuclear agency Almasadam Satkaliev. China is set to build two more plants in the resource-rich country, with the details to be revealed by the end of the year, Kazakh authorities said. Kazakhstan supplies 43 percent of the world's uranium and is the third-largest supplier of raw uranium to the European Union. But it struggles to generate enough electricity for domestic consumption and nuclear power is a sensitive topic in the country following Soviet-era nuclear tests that exposed 1.5 million people to radiation. Construction of the first nuclear plant – to be built near the half-abandoned village of Ulken on Lake Balkhash – is set to take several years. Russia's Rosatom said that the reactor will have a 60-year lifespan, with the option to extend that for another 20 years. France and South Korea also competed for the rights to secure the contract to build the station, but Kazakhstan said it had chosen neighboring Russia and China, which 'objectively had the best bids.' Across the region, Russia also plans to build a nuclear plant in Uzbekistan and wants to build a small reactor in Kyrgyzstan.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
China Accuses Philippines of ‘Playing with Fire' on Taiwan
China accused the Philippines on Friday of "playing with fire" after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the Southeast Asian nation would be drawn into any conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan. It was responding to remarks by Marcos during a state visit to India that the Philippines' closeness to Taiwan and the large Filipino community there would make involvement necessary in such a conflict. "'Geographical proximity' and 'large overseas populations' are not excuses for a country to interfere in the internal affairs of others," China's foreign ministry said in a statement. "We urge the Philippines to earnestly adhere to the one-China principle ... and refrain from playing with fire on issues concerning China's core interests." Marcos' remarks came amid heightened tension between Beijing and Manila over territorial disputes in the busy waterway of the South China Sea. Both countries have traded accusations of aggressive maneuvers and sovereignty violations there, prompting the United States to reaffirm its commitment to defend the Philippines. Beijing views democratically-governed Taiwan as its territory, a claim Taipei rejects. The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, Marcos told Indian media outlet Firstpost, "If there is an all-out war, then we will be drawn into it." He added, "There are many, many Filipino nationals in Taiwan and that would be immediately a humanitarian problem. "We will have to go in there, find a way to go in there, and find a way to bring our people home." China said such arguments "not only violate international law and the ASEAN charter, but also undermine regional peace and stability and the fundamental interests of (the Philippines') own people."
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Netanyahu acknowledges India's use of ‘battle-tested' Israeli weapons against Pakistan — Indian media
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged India's use of 'battle-tested' Israeli weapons in a recent conflict with Pakistan and said all of them had 'worked well,' Indian media reported this week. India and Pakistan engaged in a four-day military standoff, sparked by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, leaving nearly 70 people dead on both sides before agreeing to a United States-brokered ceasefire on May 10. The conflict, the worst between the neighbors in over two decades, saw the use of Chinese-made beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles, French-made Rafale jets, Israeli and Turkish drones and sophisticated air and ground warfare technologies. Speaking to Indian journalists in Jerusalem on Thursday, Netanyahu said the military equipment supplied to India by Israel had performed well during 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan and that defense ties between New Delhi and Tel Aviv were on an upswing, The Telegraph newspaper, published in India, reported. 'Israel supplied military equipment to India before [Operation Sindoor]. All of them worked well. Israeli equipment used during Operation Sindoor were battle proven,' Netanyahu was quoted as saying. 'We don't develop them in labs, but in battlefield. So they are battle-tested. We have a robust defense cooperation. It is on a pretty solid foundation.' Netanyahu met Indian journalists after his meeting with India's ambassador to Israel, J P Singh, the Israeli PM's office said. 'The Prime Minister and the Ambassador discussed the expansion of bilateral cooperation, especially on security and economic issues,' it said in a statement. 'Prime Minister Netanyahu then met with senior Indian journalists and answered their questions.' The four-day India-Pakistan clash marked the first time New Delhi and Islamabad utilized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at scale against each other. The Indian military used Barak missiles, jointly developed with Israel, and Tel Aviv's HARPY drones, in addition an impressive array of domestically manufactured weapons systems, to repel waves of Pakistan missiles over the 96-hour conflict, according to the Times of India newspaper. 'Israel is among India's largest supplier of weapons and weapons systems,' the read said. 'India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion from Israel over the last decade, including radars, drones, and missiles. Tel Aviv has ensured a steady supply of weapons to Delhi.' On May 7, Pakistan and India fought in the air with some 110 aircraft involved, experts estimate, making it the world's largest air battle in decades. Pakistan declared a victory in the standoff, saying its air force used Chinese J-10C aircraft to shoot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French Rafales, and the army targeted several Indian military installations during the recent flare-up. While Indian officials have acknowledged losses, they have not specified the number of jets downed by Pakistan. The hour-long fight, which took place in darkness, offered the world a first real glimpse into how advanced Chinese military technology performs against proven Western hardware, with Chinese defense stocks surging in its wake. Over the past five years, China has supplied 81 percent of Pakistan's imported weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Those exports include advanced fighter jets, missiles, radars and air-defense systems. Some Pakistan-made weapons have also been co-developed with Chinese firms or built with Chinese technology and expertise. Beijing is also investing over $60 billion to build infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan as part of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. India was planning to invest heavily in local industry and could spend as much as $470 million on UAVs over the next 12 to 24 months, roughly three times pre-conflict levels, Smit Shah of Drone Federation India, which represents over 550 companies and regularly interacts with the government, was quoted as saying by Reuters. Netanyahu noted that Israel had developed 'advanced technologies' and mentioned ongoing cooperation with India during his meeting with Indian journalists, WION, an English-language Indian news channel, reported on Friday. 'Israel was keen to finalize mutual defense and economic agreements with India at the earliest,' he was quoted as saying.
