9-5-2024 (MANILA) Amidst heightened tensions in the disputed South China Sea, US and Philippine forces unleashed a barrage of firepower on Wednesday, sinking a decommissioned China-made Philippine Navy ship during war games simulating an attack on an enemy vessel. The exercises, held near the city of Laoag, approximately 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Taiwan, unfolded against the backdrop of increased confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels around South China Sea features claimed by both Manila and Beijing.
The BRP Lake Caliraya, a small tanker retired from service by the Philippine Navy in 2020, slowly sank beneath the waves after being struck by a relentless volley of anti-ship missiles, rockets, cannon fire, and land-based artillery off the coast of Laoag. The assault was conducted by a formidable joint force comprising a Philippine Navy fast attack craft and frigate, an Air Force fighter and helicopter, as well as land-based artillery units. Their American counterparts contributed an F-16 fighter and an AC-130 gunship to the simulated attack on the enemy vessel.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Al Assaf, the lead Philippine planner for Wednesday’s activity, the participants had “a mission of trying to prevent an aggressor from landing on Philippine soil.” His American counterpart, Lieutenant-Colonel Matt Cahill, commander of a US Army unit participating in the war games, underscored the lethality of the combined US and Filipino forces, likening their collaboration to a well-practised team sport.
For the first time, the #PhilippineNavy‘s #JoseRizalClassFrigate launch an SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missile against the decommissioned BRP Lake Caliraya tanker, as part of the Joint Exercise #Balikatan2024. pic.twitter.com/u44NW2IypW
— Pitz Defense Analysis (@DefensePitz) May 9, 2024
“The ability of both the US and the Filipino army and air force to work together to achieve this is extremely lethal,” Cahill asserted. “You don’t take the field with a new team right before the big game but must practice together beforehand.”
The Philippine military dismissed any symbolic significance in the choice of a China-made ship as the target for the allied forces, with Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci stating, “There is no issue with that. The vessel has been used in the Philippines for a long, long time. So any attachment, if ever there is, doesn’t matter at all.”
More than 16,700 Philippine and US troops are participating in the annual military drills, dubbed Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder” in Tagalog, being conducted at multiple locations across the Philippine archipelago. Journalists witnessed Wednesday’s event on video screens beamed towards a stretch of sand dunes, where, two days earlier, the two allies had also conducted a live-fire exercise with missiles and artillery to repel an imaginary invasion force landing on the Philippines’ northern coast.
Beijing’s expansive claims over almost the entire South China Sea, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, have fueled tensions in the region. China has deployed hundreds of coast guard, navy, and other vessels to patrol and militarise the waters, raising concerns among its neighbours and the international community.
When questioned about the drills, China’s foreign ministry issued a warning on Monday, stating that “any military exercise should not be targeted at or harm the interests of third parties.” Spokesman Lin Jian added, “Countries in the region can all see clearly who is currently provoking military confrontation and escalating tensions in the region,” an apparent reference to the United States’ involvement in the exercises.
