By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

SUBIC FREEPORT, ZAMBALES — A Chinese Navy ship was spotted during joint maritime drills between the Philippines and US on Wednesday, as Filipino sailors aboard the country’s newest warship sought to familiarize themselves with the vessel alongside their counterparts to enhance interoperability.

A People’s Liberation Army-Navy destroyer was seen monitoring the Philippine-US exercise in the South China Sea about 43 nautical miles (79 kilometers) west of the Zambales coast, Captain Paul Michael P. Hechanova, commander of BRP Miguel Malvar, said.

“We were able to detect it on our radar with a range of eight to 10 nautical miles [from the ship] using our sensors, our radar and our electro-optics system,” he told reporters aboard the ship after the sea drill on Wednesday evening. “They even launched their helicopter.”

“We were not hampered by their presence,” he added, noting that they wanted to maximize the opportunity to train alongside US forces.

The Philippines conducted a maritime patrol and exercise with the US in the South China Sea for the seventh time, deploying its newest warship — BRP Miguel Malvar — along with a Philippine Coast Guard vessel and helicopter.

The US sent a detachment of marines stationed in Zambales province and a sea reconnaissance plane as part of the drill’s targeting exercises.

“A part of our drill is to test the ranges of our sensor because our warship is new,” Mr. Hechanova said. “We also had a simulated firing activity with the aid of our US counterparts doing all the maritime surveillance activity.”

The Philippines and US, which are long-time treaty allies, are working together to bolster defense coordination amid increased Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, a key global trade route that is believed to be rich in minerals and oil deposits.

The two nations agreed to hold “maritime cooperative activities” in the contested waters to help bolster their forces’ interoperability at sea. The exercise on Wednesday was the third for the year and seventh overall since the drills began in 2023.

The BRP Miguel Malvar is armed with missiles and torpedo systems and fitted with sonar, radar and electronic warfare capabilities. It was built by South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.

The namesake of its class ship, the Philippine frigate left South Korea in late March and was commissioned in late May.

Mr. Hechanova said the exercise helped the crew to familiarize themselves with the ship’s combat management system. The drill was simulated, he said. “We didn’t use the ship’s actual equipment.”

“The mission provided a valuable opportunity to evaluate the ship’s performance in a multilateral environment and assess its readiness to operate,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a separate statement on Thursday.

The Philippine Navy captain said they anticipated the presence of Chinese forces near the exercise area. “They’ve been there almost all the time in every activity at sea.”

“As regional dynamics evolve, the maritime cooperative activity underscores the importance of working together to safeguard peace, stability and a rule-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region,” the Philippine military said.

In a related development, the Chinese Embassy in Manila urged the Philippines not to “fantasize” about relying on outside forces to resolve the South China Sea dispute, and urged the European Union (EU) to stop “provoking trouble.”

An embassy spokesperson made the comments after EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas visited the Philippine capital and voiced concern over China’s activities in the busy waterway, where its claims overlap those of some Southeast Asian nations.

“The EU is not a party to the South China Sea disputes and has no right to interfere in the South China Sea differences between China and the Philippines,” the spokesperson said in a statement posted on the embassy website.

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. — with Reuters