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The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday said it had not monitored any Chinese military exercises near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, contrary to Beijing’s claim on Saturday, when the Philippines carried out joint drills with its allies in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Beijing said it had organized its air and sea forces to conduct maneuvers around the shoal after the Philippines, together with the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, conducted the fourth multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA).
“Our troops did not observe any exercises nearby. We have to understand that sometimes China is only doing these announcements for its internal audience to make it appear that they are not weak because it could cause a backlash at home,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad told reporters.
The AFP earlier said the MMCA drills took place in the West Philippine Sea under the jurisdiction of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom). Panatag Shoal, a small ring of reefs located within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), is under Nolcom, although China has controlled that area since 2012 after a tense standoff that year with the Philippine Navy.
Trinidad said the AFP monitored two Chinese Navy vessels tailing the ships participating in the MMCA, but the Chinese ships did not interfere.
