Chinese vessels tail 4-nation maritime exercise, claims Philippines

ANKARA

The Philippines on Sunday claimed that Chinese vessels tailed a four-nation joint military exercise in the West Philippines Sea (WPS) the other day.

The combined armed and defense forces of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and the US "successfully" conducted the one-day joint patrol inside the country's exclusive economic zone in the WPS, state media cited Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. as saying.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla told the Philippines News Agency that the military monitored People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels in the vicinity of the exercise on Saturday.

“However, the (multilateral maritime cooperative activity) proceeded as planned without any interference, and the safety of participating countries' vessels was ensured by the protocols in place,” Padilla said.

“While there were observations of PLAN vessels tailing during the MMCA (multilateral maritime cooperative activity), no reports were received regarding the conduct of the alleged Chinese military exercise,” she added.

There was no immediate reaction from Beijing.

It was the fourth multilateral maritime drill in the contested waterways.