Philippines, US, Japan hold joint South China Sea drills amid renewed clashes with China

Published Jul 27, 01:00 AM UTC

The Philippines concluded five-day joint maritime exercises with the United States and Japan in the South China Sea from July 21-25, 2026, amid renewed tensions with China. The drills, designated the 17th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity, involved warships, coast guard vessels, and aircraft conducting interoperability exercises. Concurrently, the Philippines accused the China Coast Guard of firing water cannons at its vessels near Scarborough Shoal on two consecutive days, disrupting supply missions to Filipino fishermen. China countered that the Philippines had illegally gathered vessels around the shoal, which it claims as Huangyan Dao. A separate physical confrontation occurred at Second Thomas Shoal on July 20, where a Philippine personnel was injured. The incidents coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling, which China rejects.