ASEAN Beat | Security | Southeast Asia

Philippines Holds Joint Exercises With US, Japan in South China Sea Amid Tensions With China

Manila and Beijing continue to trade accusations about a series of clashes at two disputed features in the South China Sea last week.

In this photo released by the Philippine military, Filipino sailors take part in the 17th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, a joint exercise with the United States and Japan, which took place in the South China Sea on July 21-25, 2026.

The Philippines on Saturday wound up a series of joint maritime exercises with the United States and Japan in the South China Sea, against a backdrop of tension between Philippine and Chinese vessels at two disputed features.

The 17th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, which began on July 21, brought together warships, coast guard vessels, and surveillance and fighter aircraft, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said in a statement yesterday.

“Throughout the five-day activity, participating forces carried out a series of advanced maritime interoperability exercises,” the AFP said. These included communication exercises, replenishment at sea operations, and division tactics.

The exercises underscored “the enduring partnership among the partner nations in promoting peace, stability, and security in the Indo-Pacific region,” it stated. They also reflected the AFP’s “continuing commitment in ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight while deterring illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities” in the South China Sea. The Philippine military did not disclose the exact location of the exercises.

The drills took place at a time of resurgent tensions in the contested seaway, which have coincided with the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitral ruling, handed down by a special tribunal in The Hague, that found China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea had no basis under international law. China does not recognize the ruling, saying that it is “null and void.”

On Friday, the Philippine accused the China Coast Guard (CCG) of firing water cannon ‌at its vessels near Scarborough Shoal for the second day. The Philippine Coast Guard said that the incident took place while the PCG and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were delivering fuel and provisions to Filipino fishing boats, part of a national initiative “to ensure the safety and security of Filipino fisherfolk exercising their legitimate rights in their traditional fishing ground.”

The water cannons hit both PCG and BFAR vessels with the high-pressure water streams while a separate CCG vessel came within about 7 meters of ​a BFAR boat, creating “a serious risk of collision.” The PCG also released several videos that it claims showed the water cannon incidents.

“The PCG strongly condemns the dangerous and unprofessional actions of ​the China Coast Guard,” PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said in the statement. Scarborough Shoal, which lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), was a traditional ⁠fishing ground of Filipinos, “whose rights cannot be lawfully impeded by any foreign power,” he said. The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea described the actions as “unlawful and dangerous.”

The CCG in turn accused the Philippines of organizing several government and PCG vessels,........

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