Latest news with #SINKEX
Newsweek
06-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Warship Sinks Before Planned US Missile Strike Drills With Ally
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. One of the highest-profile events of the ongoing United States-Philippines Balikatan military exercise—the sinking of a decommissioned warship—was canceled Monday after the doomed vessel sank before the shooting could even get underway. Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command by email for comment outside of office hours. Why It Matters Balikatan is the largest annual military exercise conducted jointly by the U.S. and the Philippines, one of Washington's oldest allies in Asia. This year's edition is the largest yet, involving roughly 14,000 American and Philippine troops and contingents from Australia and Japan. The drills are being held amid escalating tensions with China, driven by Beijing's expansive moves within the Philippines' maritime zone and large-scale war games around Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its territory. This year's Balikatan includes exercises aiming to boost interoperability among allied forces with an eye toward the East Asian power. What To Know The ship chosen for the MARSTRIKE exercise, World War II-era corvette BRP Miguel Malvar, took on water as it was moved into position about 35 miles west of the Philippines' Zambales province, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said in a statement. The Philippine Navy confirmed it sank at 7:20 a.m., four nautical miles (4.6 miles) from its intended position. No personnel were injured in the incident. The BRP Miguel Malvar being brought into position for the Balikatan exercise SINKEX event on May 5, 2025. The BRP Miguel Malvar being brought into position for the Balikatan exercise SINKEX event on May 5, 2025. Armed Forces of the Philippines "Prior to towing the target vessel to the operational area, the BRP Miguel Malvar underwent environmental cleaning and preparation for the MARSTRIKE," the AFP said. "As is common, the vessel was selected because it exceeded its service life and was no longer suitable for normal operations." The venerable warship served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II, including the invasions of the Philippines and Okinawa. After being transferred to the then-South Vietnamese Navy in 1966, it was passed to the Philippines in 1976 and served until decommissioned in December 2021. Although this year's sink exercise (SINKEX) will not proceed as planned, other elements of the live-fire drill will continue. "The training will integrate ground, maritime, and air-based sensors and shooters into a combined, joint fires network, as the Philippine and U.S. joint task forces exercise command and control while increasing combined warfighting capability, said the AFP. Chinese state media outlet the Global Times called the premature sinking of the corvette "an awkward situation." China has previously criticized joint U.S.-Philippine exercises as "currying favor and colluding with the U.S. and other outside countries to make provocations." Beijing has also repeatedly protested the recent first-ever deployment of U.S. anti-ship missiles to a far-north Philippine island near Taiwan. What People Are Saying Philippine Navy spokesperson Captain John Percie Alcos told reporters: "Due to rough sea conditions that we are currently experiencing in the exercise box and with its long service life, as is expected, she took on a significant amount of water and eventually sank." What Happens Next The Balikatan exercise will conclude on Saturday.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ship Sinks Just Before Being Pummeled With Weapons In Pacific Exercise
The planned live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) of a decommissioned warship at the Balikatan exercise in the Philippines was struck a blow after the ship in question sank before participants had a chance to pummel it with weapons. At the time of its sinking, the World War II-era corvette BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) was being positioned at the start of the exercise, which continued regardless, as part of the wider Balikatan 2025 maneuvers involving the United States, the Philippines, and Australia. The Miguel Malvar began taking on water in rough sea conditions in a location around 30 nautical miles west of San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines. It sank at 7:20 a.m. local time, shortly before the Maritime Strike (MARSTRIKE) exercise was scheduled to begin. Elements of Balikatan 40-2025 MARSTRIKE live fire cancelled The Balikatan 40-2025 Maritime Strike target vessel sank off the west coast of the Philippines prior to the event commencing today. The decommissioned BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) took on water while being positioned… — Armed Forces of the Philippines (@TeamAFP) May 5, 2025 No personnel were injured in the incident, the Philippine Navy confirmed. According to a Philippine Navy spokesperson, the Miguel Malvar sank just four nautical miles from its intended position for MARSTRIKE. The decommissioned corvette had been selected as the target for the drills on account of its age. The vessel had also undergone environmental cleaning and preparation before it was towed out of its final harbor in Sangley Point, Cavite City. Towing was conducted at speeds of between two and five knots. Although saddened, Alcos said the sinking of the former BRP Miguel Malvar would be symbolic and would serve as a 'new chapter' for the @Philippine_Navy. 'It will serve its purpose to showcase that we have transitioned from a legacy navy into a modern navy,' he said. | via… — ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) April 29, 2025 The Philippine Navy spokesperson confirmed that the vessel hadn't been damaged while under tow, but 'due to rough sea conditions that we are currently experiencing in the exercise box and with its long service life, as is expected, she took on a significant amount of water and eventually sank.' The vessel is much smaller than what we are accustomed to seeing in major SINKEX drills, but does represent the smaller military patrol boats and corvettes that call littorals in this area of the world home. The 914-ton displacement and 184.5-foot-long Miguel Malvar had a long and eventful history, having originally been launched and commissioned in 1944 as the USS Brattleboro (PCE(R)-852), a PCE(R)-848 class rescue patrol craft escort. The warship saw active duty in World War II, in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, including anti-submarine patrols during the invasion of the Philippines and later at Okinawa. After the war, Brattleboro went into the reserve before being converted for trials duty, testing infrared equipment, communications equipment, sonar, and others. Brattleboro was decommissioned in 1965 and then transferred to the South Vietnam Navy, serving as RVN Ngọc Hồi (HQ-12). With the fall of Saigon in 1975, the vessel escaped to the Philippines, was overhauled, and had armament reinstated. The warship was commissioned by the Philippine Navy in 1977 as the Miguel Malvar. The 1990s saw the vessel undergo a major overhaul, including refitting of weapons and sensors, but it was finally decommissioned in 2021. 'The MARSTRIKE remains unchanged as part of Balikatan 40-2025's command post exercise, where the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. joint task forces will rehearse virtual and constructive fire missions,' the Philippine Navy said, in the wake of the incident. Despite the loss of the target ship, 'elements of the scheduled MARSTRIKE live-fire event will occur and the combined force will still achieve its training objectives,' the Philippine Navy added. 'The Notice to Mariners and Notice to Airmen surrounding the MARSTRIKE location remains in effect.' As part of the broader Balikatan 40-2025 exercises, the MARSTRIKE saw the integration of Philippine and U.S. ground, maritime, and air-based sensors and shooters into a combined, joint fires network. The Australian Defense Force was also involved. Ahead of the MARSTRIKE event, the U.S. Marine Corps had confirmed to TWZ that 'air and maritime-based kinetic fires' would be used to target the decommissioned ship but didn't provide further details. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy provided a list of air assets, some or all of which were expected to take part in the MARSTRIKE. These comprised U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornets and MV-22B Ospreys, and Philippine Air Force FA-50 light combat aircraft, A-29 Super Tucano light-attack turboprops, and T129 ATAK combat helicopters. As you can read about here, Marine Hornets have an increasingly important maritime strike role in the Indo-Pacific area of operations, with their armament including AGM-84D Harpoon anti-ship missiles. On the maritime side, the Philippine Navy previously confirmed that it planned to fire its LIG Nex 1 C-Star anti-ship missiles during the MARSTRIKE. These South Korean-made subsonic sea-skimming missiles arm the Philippine Navy warships, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), the most modern in that country's fleet. The Philippine Navy previously employed the C-Star in the live-fire component of Balikatan last year, targeting a decommissioned tanker. Meanwhile, Philippine Navy Mistral shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles would be fired for the first time from the same warships, part of the air defense component of the maneuvers. Other Philippine Navy missiles slated for live fire during Balikatan include the Spike NLOS, which arms its Acero class fast attack craft. Also included in Balikatan for the first time is the U.S. Marine Corps' Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), armed with Naval Strike Missiles that are mounted on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. During the exercise, NMESIS was deployed by U.S. Air Force C-130s to an operating position on Batan Island, although, from here, its range of around 110 nautical miles would have put it out of reach of the Miguel Malvar. You can read more about NMESIS and the significance of its deployment in the Philippines here. With China asserting its claims over the South China Sea with increasing aggression, including repeated clashes with Philippine maritime forces, the annual Balikatan drills are becoming more important in the context of U.S.-Philippine cooperation. Even without its main target, the MARSTRIKE will have provided a useful opportunity to practice integration between the U.S. military and two of its key allies in the Indo-Pacific region. Our Marines are taking part in the 40th iteration of Exercise Balikatan alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — 3d Marine Division (@3d_Marine_Div) April 28, 2025 Nevertheless, the premature sinking of the Miguel Malvar remains unfortunate, depriving those forces of a valuable chance to gather data about weapon effectiveness as part of an end-to-end live-fire exercise. Contact the author: thomas@
