Phl holds WPS drills amid tensions with China

Philippine Navy ships were holding drills near a contested shoal in the South China Sea, a day after Manila and Beijing agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite ongoing disputes.

- Reuters, Ghio Ong

The exercise around Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, one of Asia's most hotly contested areas, was aimed at enhancing the navy's capability to secure what it said were Philippine waters and the country's territorial integrity, the navy said in a statement yesterday.

It described it as a "routine unilateral exercise" involving its BRP Antonio Luna frigate and two other patrol ships operating in the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The exercises were scheduled to take place from Jan. 17 to 19, it said.

The drills coincided with the continued radio challenges by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to the presence at the shoal of China's largest coast guard vessel, which it says is illegally patrolling in Manila's EEZ.

"If China is genuinely committed to deescalating tensions and sincerely seeks to foster mutual trust and cooperation between our nations... the Chinese government must respect the Philippines' sovereign rights in our EEZ," the PCG said in a statement on Thursday.