Canada to join PH, Australia in West Philippine Sea drills

MANILA, Philippines — Canada is expected to join Australia and the Philippines in conducting drills in the West Philippine Sea just a week after the latest incident in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) conducted on Tuesday a series of coordinated maritime activities off Lubang Island in Mindoro as part of both nations’ biennial exercise, which started last week.

READ: PH, Australia start ‘Exercise Alon’ with US, Canadian observers 

Participating warships were AFP’s guided missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal and ADF’s guided missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane.

“These activities were designed to enhance interoperability, improve operational readiness, and strengthen maritime security cooperation between the AFP and ADF,” the AFP said in a statement.

Royal Canadian Navy ship HMCS Ville de Québec is expected to join the drills this afternoon, according to Lt. Col. John Paul Salgado, assistant chief of the AFP public affairs office.

Salgado said the sail is heading towards the waters off Palawan.

While preparation for such drills typically takes months, it came eight days after the collision on Panatag Shoal.

China Coast Guard (CCG) with hull number 3104 chased BRP Suluan and performed a risky maneuver on the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship, leading to a collision with a People’s Liberation Army-Navy warship No. 164. Both ships sustained damage with CCG-3104's forecastle being badly crushed.

READ: Chinese ships collide off Scarborough Shoal; PH Coast Guard offers aid 

Both Chinese ships suffered damage, with CCG-3104’s forecastle being crushed, while BRP Suluan managed to evade the maneuver.

The PCG vessel, along with BRP Teresa Magbanua, was escorting the M/V Pamamalakaya, which was in the area to assist about 35 Filipino fishing vessels.

China pushes what experts termed as “exclusion zone enforcement” around the atoll, outright flouting the landmark arbitral ruling, which declared the area a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, but the landmark 2016 Arbitral Award effectively dismissed this in favor of Manila's sovereign rights. /jpv