TWO Chinese warships shadowed Philippine, Australian and Canadian vessels during joint naval drills for the 10th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity on Sept. 2 to 3.

On the first day of the exercise, the Philippine Navy spotted a People’s Liberation Army Navy warship, a Luyang III-class destroyer with bow No. 163 within 20 nautical miles from the Philippine frigate and 30 nautical miles east of Zambales.

Chinese warships shadow Philippine, Australian, Canadian drills in Zambales

Lt. j.g. Prince Charles Bauyot, the ship’s officer of the watch and anti-submarine warfare, said the BRP Jose Rizal issued a radio challenge to the Chinese warship thrice but received no response.

“We have interlopers, and we have monitored them. These do not hinder our activities,” Bauyot said.

“We are not allowing them to shadow us. Instead, we are the ones monitoring them and issuing challenges,” he said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday held joint sea exercises with the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Indo-Pacific Command in San Antonio, Zambales, successfully concluding the 10th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity.

The two-day activity featured the deployment of premier naval and air assets of the participating navies, including the Philippines’ BRP Jose Rizal, supported by an AW159 helicopter, a search and rescue Sokol aircraft, and a C-208B surveillance platform; Australia’s HMAS Brisbane and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft; Canada’s HMCS Ville de Quebéc and CH-148 Cyclone; and the United States’ P-8A Poseidon.

Chinese warships shadow Philippine, Australian, Canadian drills in Zambales, This news data comes from:http://qi-at-jcf-tl.jyxingfa.com

Key events included a photo exercise that captured the unity of participating navies, a vertical replenishment to test at-sea logistics and resupply operations, and an exchange of Philippine and Australian personnel via a rigid hull inflatable boat. “Vertical replenishment is one of the replenishment-at-sea operations. What we conducted was not only a solid transfer but also a personnel exchange. This shows our ship is combat-ready and that we are prepared for any challenge at sea,” Bauyot said. The activity also featured a coordinated anti-submarine warfare exercise, which enhanced detection and tracking capabilities, and concluded with a passing exercise, underscoring seamless coordination and interoperability of all participating forces.

The anti-submarine warfare, or ASW exercise, “is a growing capability of our armed forces and this is one of the things that we are promoting now,” Bauyot said.

“ASW trains our personnel on how to detect, localize and recognize underwater threats. We can’t see them, so we should be good in that field,” he said.