RICHARD JAVAD HEYDARIAN
In another sign that the South China Sea is at the heart of a brewing US-China new Cold War, both superpowers conducted tit-for-tat wargames in the disputed maritime area in the opening days of the new year.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) conducted the second iteration of the Maritime Cooperation Activity naval drills in the South China Sea from January 3 to 4 in a clear show of force by the two mutual defense treaty allies.
While the US sent its flagship Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), which was accompanied by a guided missile cruiser and two destroyers from its Carrier Strike Group 1, the Philippines deployed its flagship offshore patrol vessels BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PS-15), which was accompanied by three other warships and two naval helicopters.
The drills focused on cross-deck exercises, fixed-wing flight operations, joint patrols and maritime communication, according to reports.
Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner praised the wargames as a “significant leap” in enhancing interoperability between the two defense allies and underscored the Philippines’ “progress in defense capabilities and development as a world-class armed force” amid its deepening maritime disputes with China. They marked the second major bilateral naval drills held since November.
Viewing the Philippine-US exercises as part of a broader Pentagon-led containment strategy, China responded in kind.
The Chinese foreign ministry lambasted the drills as “provocative military activities” aimed at “flaunting their military might” while People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) reportedly deployed two warships to shadow the American and Filipino navies conducting drills close to the Scarborough Shoal and Reed Bank – two disputed features that fall within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone that are also claimed by Beijing.
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