U.S. Navy Destroyer Joins Philippine Navy Near Contested S. China Sea Shoal
Last weekend, a U.S. Navy destroyer conducted a joint drill with Philippine forces near Scarborough Shoal, a Chinese-occupied reef that has become a frequent flash point in the South China Sea.
The "maritime cooperative activity" drill involved the U.S. Navy destroyer USS John Finn, joined by the Philippine Coast Guard cutter BRP Gabriela Silang, the Philippine Navy frigate BRP Antonio Luna and fighter jets from the Philippine Air Force.
BRP Antonio Luna - named for a general who led Philippine forces against U.S. troops in the Philippine-American War - is one of two recently-purchased frigates constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries. The pair were delivered without several critical systems, including a close in weapons system (CIWS), VLS launch cells, and a towed array sonar, though were fitted to accommodate these at a later date.
During the exercise, John Finn joined Philippine counterparts for underway replenishment, surface warfare, night operations and passing exercises. The activity was typical, but the location - near a hotly contested Chinese claim in the Philippine EEZ - was noteworthy. China claims sovereignty over a large swath of the Philippine EEZ, and has occupied Scarborough Shoal since 2012. Its forces regularly interact with Philippine fishing vessels and government vessels near the shoal, occasionally using water cannons to deter Philippine boats. This time, with an American presence, the encounter was peaceful.
"There was one monitored PLAN [ship] within the exercise box. It did not conduct any aggressive or coercive action," a Philippine military spokesman told PNA.
PLA Air Force Senior Colonel Tian Junli claimed in a statement that Manila "courted countries outside of the region" for the exercise, which he described as "disrupting peace and stability in the South China Sea." Junli added that Chinese forces will defend "China's national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights," referring to Beijing's sweeping claims to most of the South China Sea. (The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague dismissed these claims in 2016, but China has ignored the ruling.)
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PLA Southern Theater Command held a live-fire exercise of its own afterwards with multiple warships and aviation assets, according to the People's Liberation Army.
Scarborough Shoal is valued by Philippine fishermen from Luzon, who travel long distances to fish in the lagoon. To cement Chinese claims to the atoll, China has announced its intention to designate Scarborough as a protected nature area, to the Philippines' dismay. The U.S. Navy has provided moral support in the form of an expanded presence in the region, notes USNI News, including a long patrol by the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and her escorts.