Latest news with #TeamAFP
NDTV
05-08-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
India, Philippines Hold 1st Joint Naval Drill In Disputed South China Sea
Manila: India and the Philippines have staged joint naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea for the first time, a high-profile military deployment that antagonized China. Beijing has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian democracies and a long-running regional rivalry with New Delhi. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday that the two-day joint naval sail and exercises which began Sunday went successfully, and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India's military in more joint maneuvers in the future. Asked if Chinese forces carried out any action in response, Brawner said without elaborating that "we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already." Two Chinese navy ships, including a guided-missile destroyer, were spotted about 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) from one of two Philippine navy frigates that participated in the joint sail on Sunday, the Philippine military said. — Armed Forces of the Philippines (@TeamAFP) August 4, 2025 The Chinese military's Southern Theater Command said it conducted routine patrols in the South China Sea on Sunday and Monday and added that it remains resolute in defending China's territory and maritime rights and interests. Without mentioning India by name, the Southern Theater Command accused the Philippines of drawing in outside countries to organize joint patrols that it said undermine regional peace and stability. China's Foreign Ministry said territorial disputes should be resolved by those directly involved without any third-party intervention. China has a longstanding land border dispute with India in the Himalayas, which sparked a monthlong war in 1962 and a number of deadly firefights since then. Separately, Beijing's expansive claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global trade route, have led to tense confrontations with other claimant states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters. The Philippines has staged naval patrols in the disputed waters with its treaty ally, the United States, and other strategic partners including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and France to promote freedom of navigation and overflight and strengthen deterrence against China. It has allowed journalists to join territorial sea and aerial patrols to witness China's increasingly aggressive actions, provoking angry Chinese reactions. In response to a question last week about Manila's plans to build up military cooperation, China's Ministry of National Defense called the Philippines a "troublemaker" that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble in what China deems its own territorial waters. Brawner said the Philippines has to boost deterrence to prevent war. "The way to do that is, number one, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has to be strengthened through modernization, and secondly, we need to partner with like-minded nations and that's what we're doing with India," he said last week. During a reception on board an Indian navy tanker, the INS Shakti, on Thursday, Brawner said the vessel's port call in Manila was more than ceremonial. It "sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific," he said. Brawner welcomed the deepening of relations between the two Asian countries and "reaffirmed the shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability and a rules-based international order in one of the world's most geopolitically sensitive regions." Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos left Monday for a five-day state visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to boost defense, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism and pharmaceutical industry engagements.
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@
