‘Manila appears to be seeking the backing of external powers to enhance its leverage in negotiations and to counterbalance China’: academic
The MCA involved three Indian naval vessels, including a guided missile destroyer and an anti-submarine corvette.
Why the South China Sea dispute remains one of the region’s most pressing issues
Two Philippine Navy warships, including BRP Miguel Malvar, a guided missile frigate that was commissioned in May, also took part in the two-day patrol that “spanned strategic waters” from Masinloc in Zambales province to Cabra Island in Occidental Mindoro and highlighted “the growing security collaboration between the two Indo-Pacific partners”, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tweeted on Monday.
Masinloc is a town on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, just 124 nautical miles (230km) east of Scarborough Shoal, a triangle-shaped chain of reefs and rocks that is at the centre of the recent maritime confrontations between Beijing and Manila.
