Overview

• The Philippines, United States, Australia and Canada held a multilateral maritime cooperative activity inside the Philippine EEZ off Zambales on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Philippine forces said a Luyang-class destroyer and a Jiangkai-class frigate shadowed the flotilla about 40 nautical miles southeast of Scarborough Shoal.
• China’s Southern Theater Command condemned the exercise as destabilizing and described its concurrent operation in the South China Sea as a routine patrol for deterrence.
• The drills featured personnel exchanges, at-sea logistics and resupply, and anti-submarine training using BRP Jose Rizal, HMAS Brisbane, HMCS Ville de Québec, a CH-148 Cyclone and P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
• The Chinese patrol message followed Exercise Alon’s conclusion in late August and coincided with a major PLA parade in Beijing, underscoring sustained parallel operations and heightened tensions.