The Southern War Zone of the Chinese army announced that the navy and air force of this war zone patrolled the East Sea on January 17 and 18, according to the newspaper. South China Morning Post.
Chinese warships during an exercise
Photo: Screenshot from chinamil.com.cn
“The patrols aim to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea region,” the Southern War Region affirmed in a statement, but did not provide further details. This is the first patrol of the Chinese military in the East Sea in 2025, according to South China Morning Post.
Meanwhile, the Philippine military today announced that it organized a “sea cooperation operation” with the US on January 17 and 18. This is the first joint exercise of the US and the Philippines in 2025 and the fifth exercise in the East Sea since the two sides launched this joint exercise in 2023, according to Reuters.
Participating in the new joint exercise mentioned above are the US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson strike group, two guided missile destroyers, two helicopters and two F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets.
The Philippine side deployed the corvette Antonio Luna, the patrol ship Andres Bonifacio, two FA-50 fighter jets and some other equipment.
This joint exercise aims to “strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation and interoperability”, according to the Philippine Armed Forces.
The new joint exercise between the US and the Philippines took place after Philippine officials said on January 14 that a “monster” Chinese coast guard ship had patrolled around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the East Sea in the previous few days.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiacon affirmed that the coast guard’s patrols were legal and legitimate, according to AP.
