US Flexes Air Power With Ally in Contested South China Sea
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The United States deployed stealth fighter jets to the Philippines—its mutual defense treaty ally—for a joint war game amid increasing Chinese military activity in the South China Sea.
The drill, Cope Thunder, comes after China conducted a "combat patrol" around the disputed Scarborough Shoal—located near the Philippines—in the South China Sea last week.
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The U.S. signed a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines. This states that an attack on either side—including in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have overlapping sovereignty claims—would prompt the allies to take action and "meet the common dangers."
The U.S. and Philippine militaries have conducted several exercises this year—including Balikatan and KAMANDAG 9—to enhance their cooperation. The most-recent joint drill follows a report of China's bomber deployment to an island outpost in the South China Sea.
What To Know
Exercise Cope Thunder began on Monday in the Philippines and is scheduled to run through July 18, according to the U.S. Pacific Air Forces. The aerial drill aims to enhance readiness and interoperability among participating air units by facilitating bilateral fighter training.
The Pacific allies support regional and global security by increasing readiness, strengthening deterrence, and fostering a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces said.
While the U.S. side did not reveal which units took part in the drill, the Philippine Air Force said that 225 personnel and an unspecified number of F-35 fighter aircraft assigned to the U.S. Pacific Air Forces were deployed to Northern Luzon—the Philippines' largest island.
Philippine FA-50PH fighter jets, bottom, and United States F-35 fighter jets conduct a joint patrol exercise over the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters as part of Exercise Cope Thunder on July 7, 2025....
Philippine FA-50PH fighter jets, bottom, and United States F-35 fighter jets conduct a joint patrol exercise over the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters as part of Exercise Cope Thunder on July 7, 2025. More
Philippine Air Force
Officially released photos show two U.S. F-35 jets conducting a patrol exercise with two Philippine FA-50PH jets over waters within the Southeast Asian country's 230-mile-wide Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters, which extend 13.8 miles from the coastline.
In addition to FA-50PH jets, the Philippine Air Force deployed more than 2,300 personnel and A-29B attack aircraft for the exercise, along with AW109, S-76A, and S-70i helicopters.
This bilateral air exercise underscored what the Philippine Air Force described as the "enduring alliance and strong defense cooperation" between Manila and Washington.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Pacific Air Forces said in a press release on Sunday: "Originating in the Philippines in 1976, Cope Thunder relocated to Eielson Air Force Base [in Alaska] in 1992, later rebranding as Red Flag Alaska. Resuming in the Philippines in 2023, this exercise offers a distinctive platform to integrate forces and enhance interoperability between the Philippine and United States air forces."
The Philippine Air Force said in a press release on Monday: "[Cope Thunder Philippines 2025] marks another significant milestone in advancing joint interoperability and mutual defense readiness between the [Philippine Air Force] and [U.S. Pacific Air Forces], while contributing to the Armed Forces of the Philippines' (AFP) modernization and capability development efforts to uphold regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether U.S. F-35 jets will stay behind in the Philippines following the conclusion of the exercise, maintaining the U.S. military presence in the South China Sea.
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