Three Philippine fighter jets and two American bombers on Tuesday conducted joint air patrol exercises – the first under US President Donald Trump’s administration – that brought them near Scarborough Shoal, a key flashpoint in the South China Sea.
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Analysts said the exercise underscored Manila’s efforts to assert its maritime claims while testing Washington’s commitment to regional security under the renewed US-Philippines alliance.
During a media briefing on the same day, Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said it was “the first exercise under the [Trump] administration”.
When asked about the implications for US-Philippines relations, Trinidad said bilateral ties had “been established over a long period of time” and remained strong at both the military and people-to-people levels. “We expect them to remain that way,” he added.
Scarborough Shoal has been a key flashpoint in the South China Sea, where Beijing asserts sweeping claims under its “nine-dash line”, a stance rejected by an international tribunal in 2016. The ruling also recognised the atoll, which lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as a traditional fishing ground for Southeast Asian nations. However, China continues to restrict access to the maritime feature.
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Tensions over the area were exacerbated last December when China submitted to the United Nations nautical charts and geographic coordinates officially claiming the shoal, which it called Huangyan Island, as part of its maritime territory.