US and Allies Sink China-Made Naval Vessel in War Drill

The U.S., the Philippines, and Australia have sunk a made-in-China warship in a simulated attack on an enemy vessel as China doubles down on its sweeping territorial claims in the region.

Land, air, and sea assets pummeled the 325-foot BRP Lake Caliraya, a replenishment oiler the Philippine Navy previously acquired from China, off the west coast of the Taiwan-facing province of Ilocos Norte on Wednesday morning.

The drill, dubbed SINKEX, was part of the weekslong Balikatan exercise held annually between the U.S. and the Philippines. This year's edition, the largest yet, saw some 17,000 armed service members participate, including from Australia and France.

The exercise is taking place against the backdrop of heightened friction between Beijing and U.S. defense treaty ally Manila. China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, including areas within the Philippines' internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. This has led to increasingly tense standoffs over the past year in disputed waters, including two in March that left several Philippine sailors injured.

"Incorporating as many combined sensing and shooting platforms as possible, the objective of the maritime strike exercise was to test and validate the combined fires networks," read the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command statement on Wednesday's maritime strike exercise.

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After two hours, the BRP Lake Caliraya sank beneath the waves at 10:49 a.m. According to the U.S. statement, the ship was kept afloat as long as possible to "maximize the training value."

"We know the lethality and capability of our munitions to sink maritime targets," U.S. Marine Col. Douglas Krugman was quoted as saying. "This exercise was about the collective capability of our combined fires networks and increasing interoperability to sense and shoot targets from a variety of Philippine, U.S. and Australian land, sea and air platforms."

A variety of munitions were fired by warships, fighter planes, and land-based platforms during the exercise, including Spike anti-tank guided missiles, artillery shells, and the South Korea-developed surface-to-surface C-Star cruise missile.

"Balikatan 2024 made history today through the first-ever launch of an anti-ship cruise missile by the Philippine Navy during a Maritime Strike activity in the South China Sea. [Philippine guided-missile frigate] BRP Jose Rizal fired one SSM-700K C-Star and successfully struck the target, " freelance defense journalist Aaron-Matthew Lariosa wrote in a social media post.

Last month, the Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times condemned the choice of the Lake Caliraya, which was constructed at the Taizhou Zhongxing Shipyard in eastern China's Zhejiang province. "The Philippine side is preparing to use it as a target in a simulated 'enemy ship' scenario, showing clear provocative intent," the article said.

Roy Vincent Trinidad, a Philippine Navy spokesperson, told the media several days later that the selection was "just coincidental. Don't put any meaning to that."

However, the model ship used to represent the Lake Caliraya bears a striking resemblance to China's first two aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, Max Montero, an X account focused on Philippine maritime security pointed out, sharing a photo attributed to Col. Michael Logico, director of the Philippine military's Joint and Combined Training Center.

"No military drill should target or harm the interests of any third party, nor should it undermine the trust between countries and affect peace and stability in the region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said ahead of the drill, during a regular press conference on Tuesday.

"Relevant countries need to stop infringement and provocations at sea, stop stoking confrontation, and contribute to peace and stability in this region," he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry didn't immediately respond to a written request for comment.