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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
April 29, 2025 | 6:15pm
Allied vessels (USS Savannah (LCS-28), JMSDF FFM-5 JS Yahagi, BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16), USS Comstock (LSD-45), BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS36), and BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV 8301), sail in formation during the Multilateral Maritime Event of the Balikatan exercises, April 2025.
Armed Forces of the Philippines / Released
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines, United States and Japan capped off on Tuesday, April 28, their six-day maritime exercise within Philippine waters — a multilateral drill that proceeded as planned despite the reported presence of Chinese warships near Zambales.
The multilateral maritime event — part of this year's Balikatan exercises — brought together naval and coast guard forces from the Philippines, US and Japan to enhance interoperability and coordination among the allied nations.
The Philippine Navy earlier confirmed that three Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy vessels were spotted on April 26, approximately 60 nautical miles west of Palauig, Zambales, where allied ships were conducting training operations.
Throughout the six-day event from April 24 to 29, the three countries' forces engaged in communications drills, division tactics, photo exercises, replenishment at sea, cross-deck landing qualifications, maritime search and rescue operations, and gunnery drills.
Sailors participate in a communications exercise during the multilateral maritime event of the Balikatan exercises, April 2025.
Armed Forces of the Philippines / Released
The maritime drills spanned waters from Subic Bay to the Northern Luzon Command Joint Operational Area, covering swaths of the Philippines' western maritime domain.
Assets deployed. Key naval assets deployed during the exercise included the following:
Philippine Navy
- BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16)
- BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS36)
Philippine Coast Guard
- BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV8301)
US Navy
- USS Savannah (LCS-28)
- USS Comstock (LSD-45)
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
- JS Yahagi (FFM-5)
The exercise also featured aerial support from the Philippine Navy's AW109 helicopter (NH434), the US Navy's MH-60R Seahawk (Stinger 44), and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's SH-60K (Super Auk26).
Live-fire gunnery drills conducted at sea during the multilateral maritime event of the Balikatan exercises, April 2025.
Armed Forces of the Philippines / Released
The Philippine Navy earlier said it had responded to the presence of China warships near Zambales during the activity "in accordance with international law and protocols" while its participating troops "remain focused on their training objectives alongside our allies."
"More than just a training exercise, the [multilateral maritime event] is a reaffirmation of a shared vision for a secure, stable, and rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific," the Philippine Navy said in its statement on Tuesday.
The Balikatan exercises are the biggest annual joint military exercise between the Philippines and US. Now on its 40th iteration, this year's exercises involved the participation of nearly 14,000 troops combined from both nations and Australia.
This year, Japan also participated for the first time after having previously sent only observers. Around 100 personnel from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are expected to take part in select activities of the joint exercises, which will end on May 9.
