US Japan and Philippines Conduct Maritime Drills Amid China Tensions

The United States, Japan, and the Philippines conducted the 17th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity in the South China Sea from July 21 to 25, 2026. The five-day exercises involved warships, coast guard vessels, and fighter aircraft, including the USS Santa Barbara and JS Yuudachi, to improve interoperability and counter China's expansive territorial claims. The drills coincided with the deployment of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group in the region.

Tensions escalated during the period as the Philippines reported that Chinese Coast Guard personnel struck a sailor with a baton at Second Thomas Shoal and used water cannons against vessels near Scarborough Shoal on July 23 and 24. While China disputed these accounts, Antonio Nafarrete, the Philippine chief of staff of the armed forces, visited Thitu Island on July 25 to pledge support to stationed troops. The Armed Forces of the Philippines described the joint exercises as a demonstration of an enduring partnership aimed at deterring illegal and coercive activities.

In response, the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army conducted naval and air patrols on July 26. Chinese spokesperson Colonel Zhai Shichen accused the Philippines of disrupting regional peace by involving foreign nations in the waterway. China maintains that its military will resolutely defend national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, rejecting the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated its claims over nearly the entire South China Sea.