Philippine Navy & Chinese Warship Exchange Radio Challenges Near Disputed Sabina Shoal During Naval Exercise With U.S & Australia

Chinese warships trailed behind Australian, Philippine and U.S naval vessels during a naval exercise which was conducted recently in the West Philippine Sea.

However, Chinese ships maintained a safe distance of 2 to 4.5 nm from the vessels participating in the exercise, and everything went as planned, sources suggest.

The Chinese naval ships and coast guard vessels also entered into a radio conversation with a Philippine vessel, over claims of sovereignty near the disputed Sabina Shoal.

Chinese warship 536 communicated with Philippine naval vessel 07, saying that the Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Jiao, belonged to Beijing and asked the Philippine vessel to leave the area.

The Philippine naval vessel responded by announcing that it was the Chinese vessel which was in Manila’s Exclusive Economic Zone and the Kalayaan Islands which were part of the Philippines’ territory.

It also reminded China of the United Nations Convention on the Law Of The Sea, or UNCLOS, according to which Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the shoal and the neighbouring islands like Nanshan Shintao and others were baseless, illegal and not recognised by international law.

The entire exchange was heard by the Philippines’ BRP Diego Silang, which was also participating in the 19th 19th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) held between August 21-25, 2026.

The commanding officer of the warship, Captain John Percie Alcos, said that a Philippine frigate was being followed by a Chinese destroyer of the Luyang class missile boat of the Hubei-class, two coast guard ships and a frigate of the Jiankai II-class.

U.S warship Santa Barbara was being shadowed by a Chinese corvette while Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua was being monitored by a Chinese coast guard ship.

Alcos also highlighted that Chinese naval warships had been present during many naval drills conducted by the Philippines in 2026.

In the exercise, the vessels identified, tracked and took down the threats and worked together towards achieving greater maritime domain awareness and focused on enhancing their capabilities to conduct joint operations.

West Philippine Sea is a highly contested area between China and the Philippines, which also explains the presence of the Chinese Navy in the waters when the Philippines was engaging in a multinational maritime exercise with the U.S and Australia.

China has time and again expressed its dislike for Western countries’ interference in Asia and matters concerning Beijing.