Two Air Force B-1 bombers flew over a disputed South China Sea shoal together with Philippines jet fighters, in the new Trump administration’s first show of force to China this week.
A day later, U.S., Australian, Japanese and Philippines naval forces conducted joint operations inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the sea, the Indo-Pacific Command said.
The bombers and three Philippines FA-50s conducted a joint air patrol and intercept exercise on Tuesday, said Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a spokesman for the Hawaii-based Indo-Pacific Command. The flights were the first conducted since President Trump was inaugurated last month and are a continuation of regular U.S. aircraft and naval deployments in an area that China claims is its maritime territory.
The bomber deployments “demonstrate lethality and interoperability in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific and enhance the readiness and training necessary to respond to any contingency or challenge,” Cmdr. Comer told The Washington Times in a statement.
The joint flights also showed increased coordination between the U.S. and Philippines forces, he said.
“This exercise demonstrates the strong relationship between the Armed Force of the Philippines and IndoPacom as well as our collective commitment to maintaining regional security and stability,” Cmdr. Comer said. “Evaluating readiness and forward positioning of bombers ensures the Department of Defense can maintain operational and support capabilities to meet our security obligations.”
The Indo-Pacific command said in a statement that the naval exercises showed “a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The maneuvers underscore “our shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law.”
The flights and drills also suggest the administration is not backing off U.S. policies of confronting China or that President Trump is becoming more accommodating to China in the region than his predecessor.
Politico reported in a column this week that Mr. Trump has begun his second term with conciliatory policies toward Beijing, including delaying a ban on TikTok, inviting President Xi Jinping to his inauguration, and giving China’s communist regime “a chance to strengthen itself just as it was facing economic headwinds.”
Officials from the Philippines said the overflight took place near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, where China’s naval and maritime militia forces have been conducting provocative maneuvers against Philippines vessels seeking to resupply a grounded navy ship on the shoal.
The area was in the west Philippines Sea and claimed as part of Manila’s exclusive economic zone. The South China Sea is a strategic waterway that sees more than $3 trillion annually in shipping.
The B-1B bombers that conducted the operation were non-nuclear variants that can carry a range of missiles and bombs, including the Joint Standoff Weapon and Long Range Anti-Ship Missile. They also can deliver the Joint Direct Attack Munition, a guided aerial bomb.
Philippines Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo told reporters in Manila this week that the jets practiced intercepting hostile aircraft.
A day after the bomber mission, China’s military said it conducted a routine naval patrol in the South China Sea.
Chinese Sr. Col. Tian Junli, said in a statement that the Philippines was “colluding” with foreign nations in conducting joint patrols that he said were an attempt to destabilize the sea and endorse “illegal claims” in the waterway. The patrols undermine China’s maritime rights and interests, he said. Any military activities that seek to disrupt the South China Sea are “fully under control,” the colonel added.
Col. Castillo, the Philippines military spokeswoman, said that no Chinese aircraft or radio messages were detected during the bomber and jet flights.
The U.S. government has repeatedly invoked the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty regarding Chinese harassment at Scarborough Shoal and other Spratly islands. However, the U.S. military has stopped short of providing security aid to Philippine naval and civilian vessels involved in resupplying the grounded ship at Scarborough that Manila maintains in a bid to asserts its sovereignty claims.
China has claimed some 90% of the South China Sea as its territory and the Philippines claims the Spratly islands, where Scarborough Shoal is located, as its sovereign territory.
In August, two Chinese warplanes flew close to a Philippine Air Force turboprop plane patrolling over Scarborough Shoal and dropped flares in the flight path of the plane, putting the crew at risk, military officials said.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.