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Philippines, US and allies stage show of force in South China Sea.
China responded by conducting a joint sea and air combat patrol in disputed waters.
Ships and aircraft from the Philippines, the United States, Japan and Australia conducted a large-scale joint exercise in the South China Sea on Sunday, just a few days ahead of an unprecedented summit in Washington.
On April 11, U.S. President Joe Biden, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold their first trilateral meeting at the White House to discuss security cooperation.
The armed forces of the three countries and Australia “successfully conducted the first Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, April 7,” said a statement from the Philippine military, referring to South China Sea waters within Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
Six naval ships and four aircraft “performed communication exercise, division tactics or Officer of the Watch maneuver, and a photo exercise.”
“These activities were designed to enhance the different forces’ abilities to work together effectively in maritime scenarios,” the statement said.
Manila recently accused Chinese coast guard vessels of blocking and harassing its resupply missions at the Second Thomas Shoal where it maintains an old warship as a military outpost.
Japanese Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara, meanwhile, said that the joint activity demonstrated “our collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the U.S. “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, and respect for maritime rights under international law…,” Kihara said in a joint statement.
“Every country should be free to conduct lawful air and maritime operations,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added.
The spokesperson for the Philippine Armed Forces, Col. Xerxes Trinidad, told reporters in Manila that there were “no untoward incidents” during the joint drills.
Beijing’s response
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced on the same day that it also conducted a “joint naval and air combat exercise” in the South China Sea.
“All military activities that disrupt the South China Sea and create hotspots are under control,” the PLA Southern Theater Command said in a statement on the microblogging site Weibo.
Beijing has accused Washington of using its allies as “pawns” to destabilize the region and threaten Chinas surrounding security.
Recently the Southern Theater Command, whose primary area of responsibility is the South China Sea, has also conducted a real combat training exercise in the South China Sea.
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Naval ships from the U.S., Australia, Japan and the Philippines sail in formation off the coast within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea ..Philippines used by USA also including Australia, Japan .
Philippines, US and allies stage show of force in South China SeaU.SS., Chinese Military Officials Resume Talks on Operational Safety.
Military officials from the U.S. and China met this week for working-level talks focused on ensuring safe and professional air and naval interactions between their forces.
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Military representatives from US Indo-Pacific Command, US Pacific Fleet, and US Pacific Air Forces met with China’s Peoples Liberation Army representatives for the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement Working Group in Honolulu, April 3, 2024.
Military officials from the US and China met this week for working-level talks focused on ensuring safe and professional air and naval interactions between their forces.
The two-day discussions, held in Honolulu, marked the resumption of the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement Working Group, a series of annual operational safety dialogues. The MMCA dialogues were established more than two decades ago; they were last held in December 2021. This year’s discussions included representatives from US Indo-Pacific Command, US Pacific Fleet and US Pacific Air Forces, who met with their counterparts from China’s People’s Liberation Army.
The head of the US delegation, Army Col. Ian Francis, Indo-Pacom’s director of Northeast Asia policy, said the delegation is encouraged by representatives from China’s army honouring their commitment to attend the talks. He said he looks forward to future discussions aimed at safeguarding forces operating in the region.
“The Military Maritime Consultative Agreement is US Indo-Pacom’s primary means to directly discuss air and maritime operational safety with the PLA,” Francis said. “The United States will continue to operate safely and professionally in the Indo-Pacific wherever international law allows, and we take this responsibility seriously.
“Open, direct and clear communications with the PLA and with all other military forces in the region is of utmost importance to avoid accidents and miscommunication,” .
During this year’s MMCA, officials from both countries reviewed specific instances of safety-related events in the region that have occurred in recent years. The officials also discussed sustaining maritime and aviation operational safety and professionalism.
President Joe Biden secured China’s agreement to return to military-to-military talks in November after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Woodside, California. That meeting was quickly followed by talks between Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., and his Chinese military counterpart, People’s Liberation Army Gen. Liu Zhenli, in December. In January, senior US and Chinese military officials resumed the US-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks at the Pentagon. The high-level talks were last held in September 2021.
According to the most recent China Military Power Report, the US has documented more than 180 coercive and risky air intercepts against US aircraft in the region between 2021 and 2023. That is more risky intercepts in the past two years than in the past decade, according to the report. In previewing this week’s military-to-military talks, defence officials noted a decrease in China’s unsafe behaviour toward US maritime and air operators in the region.
“We’ve observed a reduction in unsafe behaviour between us and PLA aircraft and vessels over the last several months,” a senior military official said. “So, we’re encouraged by that, and we’re happy that we have this opportunity with the MMCA to talk about ways to make sure that trend continues in the right direction.”
However, US officials noted they maintain concerns over China’s continued unsafe behaviour toward non-US maritime operations in the region.
“In recent months, we do continue to see the PRC acting very dangerously and unlawfully against routine maritime operations the Philippines was conducting in the South China Sea,” a senior defence official said. “We’ll continue to press [China] on those issues.”
Biden and Xi met again this week for a phone discussion featuring “candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference,” according to a White House summary of the call. During the discussion, Biden emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also raised concerns over China’s support of Russia’s defence industrial base.
The two leaders “welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship” through diplomatic channels and working-level dialogue, according to the summary of their talk.
菲律賓將二戰時期登陸艦「馬德雷山號」擱淺在有主權爭議的仁愛暗沙，已成為美國與中國之間的潛在衝突爆發點...
美國印太司令部,澳洲國防軍和日本自衛隊今天首度於菲律賓在南海的專屬經濟海域舉行「多邊海上合作行動」（MMCA）。
菲律賓今天出動近海巡邏艦「皮勒號」（BRP Gregorio del Pilar）配備阿古斯特維斯特蘭（AgustaWestland）AW109直升機、飛彈巡防艦「魯納號」（BRP Antonio Luna）配備AW-159「野貓」反潛直升機,以及巡邏艦狄亞士號（BRP ValentinDiaz）,美軍派出濱海戰鬥艦「莫比爾號」（USSMobile）和一架P-8A海神式（P-8A Poseidon）海上巡邏偵察機。
澳洲出動驅逐艦「瓦拉門加號」（HMASWarramunga）和一架P-8A海神式海上巡邏偵察機；日本則派出「曙」號護衛艦參與行動。
國家戰略觀察家分析認為,美國接二連三的發動代理人戰爭(俄烏戰爭,以巴衝突,也門胡塞武裝控制鴻海與美軍對抗) 早已失敗, 如今無奈的掉整戰略 ,利用. 菲律賓.澳洲.日本, 等國展開軍事演習,企圖在中國南海挑起另類的海外代理人戰爭,並且設計衝突也就是說將台灣捲入, 好讓美國找到藉口與中國開戰,這樣一來美國總統拜登想要連任競選似乎有加分的效果. 結局如何 鹿死誰手 尚未知曉? 看者辦.. .
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美國要求.菲律賓的軍隊參加演習己乎是全體動員.The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied any confrontation with China that disrupted the conduct of Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) with its counterparts from Japan, Australia, and the United States in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Sunday morning. "The MMCA was successfully concluded with no untoward incident happened,
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