Philippines, India Conduct First Joint Naval Patrols in South China Sea

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Aug 5, 2025 - 09:56 Updated: Aug 5, 2025 - 09:49
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Philippines, India Conduct First Joint Naval Patrols in South China Sea
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The Philippine Navy on Aug. 4 wrapped up a two-day patrol with Indian forces in the South China Sea, where the Chinese regime’s aggressive actions to assert territorial claims have escalated regional tensions.

“For the first time in history, we had a joint sail with the Indian Navy,” Gen. Romeo Brawner, the country’s military chief, told reporters on Aug. 4. He hailed the bilateral maritime cooperative activity as successful.

When asked whether there was any interference from other nations during the exercises, Brawner said they didn’t experience any “untoward incidents,” although there were vessels that shadowed the patrol, a move he said Manila had expected.

The Philippines’ military public affairs office stated that two Chinese warships were spotted about 10 to 15 nautical miles from one of the Filipino guided missile frigates participating in the drills on Aug. 3, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Chinese military stated that it conducted routine patrols in the South China Sea from Aug. 3 to Aug. 4.

Col. Tian Junli, spokesman for the military’s Southern Theater Command, accused Manila of undermining regional stability by “colluding with countries outside the region” to conduct joint patrols, according to an Aug. 4 statement on the theater’s official WeChat account.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) lays sovereignty claims to almost the entire South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

A 2016 ruling by an international arbitration court determined that Beijing lacked the legal basis for its historical claims in the waterway, but the CCP dismissed the ruling, ramping up its military and coast guard presence in the area to reinforce those claims.
Following a string of clashes and incidents in the air and at sea in recent years, the Philippines strengthened cooperation with treaty allies and staged naval drills in the waters with countries including the United States, Australia, and Japan to counter Beijing’s sweeping claims.

Brawner said last week that the Philippines has to boost deterrence to prevent war.

“The way to do that is, number one, the Armed Forces of the Philippines have 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 told reporters on July 31.

In an Aug. 4 statement, the Philippine military said that the joint naval patrol with its Indian counterparts “lays the groundwork for sustained maritime collaboration in the years ahead.”

The military exercises coincide with a visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to India, where he is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials.

According to the Philippines’ foreign ministry, at least six agreements aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation in technology, culture, and other sectors are expected to be signed during Marcos’s five-day visit.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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