Philippines, India hold first joint sail in South China Sea

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. speaks to the media during a press briefing at Western Command in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

The Philippine and Indian navies have sailed together for the first time in the South China Sea, officials said on Monday, as President Ferdinand Marcos left Manila for New Delhi for a state visit.

The Philippines has conducted "maritime cooperative activities" with foreign navies since late 2023 as part of its push to counter China's expansive claims in the waterway, including joint passages with treaty ally the United States, as well as Japan, Australia, France and Canada.

An Indian official said the passage was in the West Philippine Sea and part of a bilateral exercise with Manila, where its ships arrived on Friday as part of India's outreach to build partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.

Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said the idea for the two-day joint passage, which started on Sunday and was inside the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, came about when he met his counterpart in India in March.

"We did not experience any untoward incidents, but there are still those shadowing us - as we had already expected," Brawner told reporters, without referring directly to China.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that territorial and maritime disputes should be resolved between the countries directly involved and no third party should intervene.

Indian Navy ships that took part included guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, tanker INS Shakti and corvette INS Kiltan. The Philippines deployed two frigates, BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Jose Rizal.

The exercise coincided with Marcos' departure for a five-day trip to India, where he said he would look to deepen maritime ties and seek cooperation on sectors including defence, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, overlapping with maritime zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The waterway is a strategic shipping route where $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce takes place.

A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejected.