Canada, Australia and Philippines stage air defence drills off disputed shoal guarded by China

In this May 7, 2013 photo, a fishing boat returns to their village in the coastal town of Masinloc, Zambales province, northwestern Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines — Australia, Canada and the Philippines deployed three warships and aircraft Wednesday for drills against simulated aerial threats off a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese forces have used risky maneuvers to try to drive away Manila’s aircraft and ships.

The Philippine military said the naval drills east of the Scarborough Shoal were concluded safely, and it did not mention any encounter with Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships which have been closely guarding the uninhabited fishing atoll off the northwestern Philippines for years.

Chinese officials did not immediately issue any comment on the naval drills but they have repeatedly warned that they would defend the shoal and outlying waters, which they claim as Beijing’s territory, at all cost.

China and the Philippines claim Scarborough and other islands, islets and reefs in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the busy waterway, a key global trade route.

The United States has no claims but has questioned China’s claim to virtually the entire sea passage, including to Scarborough. Two U.S. warships sailed off the shoal this month to promote freedom of navigation and were shadowed by a Chinese navy ship.

Sailing from a western Philippine province, the Royal Australian Navy’s guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane, Canadian navy frigate HMCS Ville de Quebec and a Philippine navy guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal conducted exercises east of the shoal, including the “air defence exercise that honed the participants’ capability to counter simulated aerial threats through coordinated defensive maneuvers,” the Philippine military said in a brief statement.

Video footage and photographs issued by the Philippine military show at least three fighter jets soaring in the sky during the drills while two combat helicopters separately flew near the Philippine navy frigate.

“This engagement reaffirms the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ commitment to advancing defence cooperation with like-minded nations,” it said.

The drills were among the final activities of the largest military exercises Australia has staged with the Philippines that involved more than 3,600 military personnel for 15 days of live-fire and battle maneuvers that would end on Friday.

Canada and several security partners sent military forces as observers.

One of Asia’s most sensitive flashpoints, the Scarborough Shoal has been closely guarded by China’s forces, which suffered a setback on Aug. 11 when a Chinese navy ship accidentally collided with a Chinese coast guard ship while trying to block a Philippine coast guard vessel near the shoal. The Chinese coast guard ship’s bow was severely damaged by the high-velocity crash which Philippine military officials said may have killed at least two Chinese personnel based on video footage. China has so far refused to provide specific details of the damage and possible casualties.

Two days after the Chinese collision, the U.S. Navy deployed a guided missile destroyer and a littoral combat ship that sailed about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) from Scarborough in what it called freedom of navigation operations to challenge China’s territorial claims. The U.S. Navy ships were shadowed by a Chinese navy ship but there were no reports of any untoward incident, the Philippine coast guard.

The Philippines is the oldest treaty ally of the U.S. in Asia. Washington has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

Jim Gomez, The Associated Press