The United States deployed a nuclear-capable strategic bomber on Monday to join the allied Philippine Air Force on a South China Sea patrol against the backdrop of Manila's territorial tit-for-tat with Beijing.
Three Philippine FA-50 fighter jets accompanied the B-52 Stratofortress, the Southeast Asian country's Air Force said in a social media statement that night.
The partners share a seven-decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty that commits U.S. forces to the Philippines' defense in the event of an attack. President Joe Biden has stressed the pact extends to the South China Sea, raising concerns of a potential broader great-power confrontation in the region.
"With this activity, the [Philippine Air Force] underscores its commitment and readiness to support the [Philippine military's] efforts in safeguarding the national territory and sovereign rights, and upholding regional peace and security," the statement said.
Monday's patrol took place west of the northwestern Philippine province of Ilocos Sur and northwest of Mindoro island, according to the statement. The area is within the exclusive economic zone accorded to Manila by international maritime law.
China claims this zone, as it does most of the South China Sea, as its sovereign territory, citing unspecified historical rights. Competing claims over features in the strategic, energy-rich waterway are at the heart of the neighboring countries' simmering territorial dispute.
"The Philippines enlisted foreign countries to stir up the South China Sea, organized so-called 'joint air patrols' and publicly hyped them," the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) wrote in a statement on Monday night.
The Southern Theater added that its troops had directed "front-line naval and air forces" to keep track of the situation.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, public affairs chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, confirmed the drill was the air component of the third U.S.-Philippine "maritime cooperative activity" (MCA) that took place earlier this month.
Asked about the PLA statement, he told Newsweek: "We expect more MCAs in the future with our ally and other like-minded nations in keeping with a peaceful and secured Indo-Pacific region."
China frequently objects over military activities carried out by the U.S. and its allies on what it considers to be its "doorstep." It has repeatedly called on the Philippines to return to bilateral dialogue instead of publicizing the often dramatic confrontations between the neighbors' maritime forces.
The U.S. and the Philippines' militaries routinely participate in bilateral exercises, and occasionally with third countries in the region such as Australia.
American and Philippine air assets were part of a three-day series of patrols drills last November that also involved naval vessels.
On Friday, the U.S. also held a joint exercise with allied naval forces from Japan. The drills saw guided missile destroyer the USS John Finn of the forward-deployed Seventh Fleet pair up with two Japanese destroyers, the JS Shimakaze and Suzunami.
Update 2/20/24, 1:20 p.m. ET: This article was additional with a comment from Col. Xerxes Trinidad.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
