China stages navy drill as US and Philippines embark on Balikatan 2026

Beijing has held naval exercises in waters east of a Philippine island near Taiwan in an apparent response to nearby annual military drills hosted by Manila and Washington. The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theatre Command said on Friday that a naval fleet had “recently” held drills in waters east of Luzon, the northernmost major island of the Philippines. The drills were “a necessary action taken in response to the current regional situation”, said the command, which oversees the South China Sea. The deployment coincided with Monday’s launch of “Balikatan 2026”, a 19-day annual large-scale joint exercise led by the United States and the Philippines. This year’s edition features an unprecedented level of participation from Japan and is taking place in areas facing the South China Sea and Taiwan, including Luzon. The command did not say how many vessels took part in the PLA’s drill, saying only that it was led by the Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Zunyi. Footage posted online by the navy showed the Zunyi at the head of a four-ship formation. “The drills focused on live-fire exercises, air-sea coordination, rapid manoeuvring and replenishment, with the aim of testing integrated joint combat capabilities,” it said. “Theatre command forces will continue to regularly organise related military operations as required by the security situation, in order to safeguard national sovereignty and security, as well as regional peace and stability.” China also appears to have deployed a large naval fleet, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, to the South China Sea, according to a satellite image circulating on social media. It is not clear whether some of those vessels also took part in the PLA drill. The command did not mention the Liaoning in its statement on Friday and the military usually does not comment on such manoeuvres. The image is dated Thursday and shows 14 large warships, including one marked as the Liaoning, in a broad waterway southeast of China’s Yulin Naval Base in southern Hainan province. It began circulating on social media on Thursday and some users marked the types of vessels visible in the image. These include a Type 052D destroyer, two Type 054A frigates, a Type 075 landing helicopter dock and a Type 071 amphibious transport dock. The South China Morning Post could not independently verify the ship types or the authenticity of the image. Some observers said the satellite image indicated that the South China Sea was the carrier’s intended destination. Taiwan’s defence ministry said the Liaoning transited the Taiwan Strait on Monday, but it did not specify the carrier’s direction of travel. Separately, the PLA announced on Tuesday that the Sichuan – China’s first Type 076 amphibious assault ship – had sailed from Shanghai to the South China Sea for “scientific research trials and training missions”. And, according to The PLA Daily, various groups of Chinese combat vessels are on a range of blue-water missions, including in the northern Indian Ocean, the western Pacific and the southern Pacific. Exercise Balikatan 2026 runs until May 8 and will also involve Australian, Canadian, French and New Zealand forces. Japanese digital news service Nippon reported that in addition to Luzon, the exercise would be held in Palawan, a Philippine province facing the South China Sea. The Philippines and the US will also hold their first maritime strike drills on the island of Itbayat, the northernmost point of the Philippines about 155km (96 miles) from Taiwan. At the launch of the exercise on Monday, US Lieutenant General Christian Wortman said that “regardless of the challenges elsewhere in the world, the United States’ focus on the Indo-Pacific and our ironclad commitment to the Philippines remains unwavering”. The US has embarked on a massive military deployment in the Middle East as part of its war against Iran. Meanwhile, Japan is joining Balikatan as an active participant for the first time this year, deploying about 1,400 combat troops and introducing its Type 88 surface-to-ship missile system along with an array of weaponry as part of the drills, Naval News reported on April 15. Japan’s inclusion in Balikatan could be closely watched by Beijing, which remains on high alert over Tokyo’s expanding military footprint, particularly its deployments near Taiwan. Last week, China’s foreign ministry strongly criticised Japan after a Self-Defence Forces vessel transited the Taiwan Strait. The ministry warned that the Taiwan question was a “red line” that must not be crossed. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

China stages navy drill as US and Philippines embark on Balikatan 2026

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Liaoning aircraft carrier appears to be among 14 large naval vessels snapped on manoeuvres in a satellite image circulating online

The Liaoning aircraft carrier appears to be among 14 large naval vessels snapped on manoeuvres in a satellite image circulating online