Naval News – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) held a meeting in Manila this week to discuss potential lines of cooperation – including intelligence sharing and capacity-building efforts – in the face of increasing tensions in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait. 

Defense News –  Once reliant on aging, second-hand vessels from the United States, a steady drumbeat of new warships is beginning to enter Philippine Navy service.

Defense News – The United States and the Philippines have announced the creation of a joint task force aimed at further deterring what U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Beijing’s “coercion” in the South China Sea.

Breaking Defense – Strategic geography, resupply corridors, and maritime access underscore Manila and Tokyo’s ability to assist Taiwan.

USNI News – American and Philippine defense secretaries unveiled a task force designed to deter Chinese coercion in the South China Sea and enhance alliance defense cooperation.

USNI News – Philippine Marines deployed two small boats last week to escort a Chinese fishing boat that Manila claimed was illegally fishing at Second Thomas Shoal.

USNI News – Manila stood up its first Army unit dedicated to operating surface-to-surface missiles last week in an effort to strengthen Philippine forces’ long-range precision strike capabilities and contribute to the country’s territorial defense operations.

USNI News – Manila provided supplies and protection to Philippine fishermen against a fleet of Chinese patrol ships, warships and aircraft operating in the South China Sea near two disputed maritime features on Tuesday.

USNI News – The Philippine Navy’s newest warship recently arrived at Subic Bay, marking the latest development in Manila’s military modernization efforts amid tensions in the South China Sea.

USNI News – A defense pact between Manila and Tokyo will go into effect next month, furthering a new phase of security cooperation aimed at enhancing military-to-military training on Philippine soil.

USNI News – The U.S. plans to fund and build a facility capable of hosting watercraft and assault boats on the western coast of Palawan in support of Manila’s operations into the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

USNI News – A Philippine Coast Guard cutter intercepted a Chinese Navy spy ship within Manila’s western exclusive economic zone over the weekend.

USNI News – In the jungles, plains and mountains of Luzon, the U.S. Army is experimenting with 3D-printed drones, missile launchers and new operational maneuvers in a test of their ability to defend the Philippines’ largest island. The drills come amid Manila’s concerns of potential spillover from a cross-strait conflict between Beijing and Taipei reaching Northern Luzon, located just 155 miles south of Taiwan.

Naval News – Japan is in talks with the Philippines over a potential transfer of used navy destroyers and maritime surveillance aircraft, as part of Tokyo’s efforts to bolster Manila’s defense capabilities amid China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Defense News – The Philippines is ramping up its maritime defense posture with plans to establish and upgrade several naval bases in critical areas across the archipelago, including an island base under a basing agreement with the United States and a former American base in Luzon.

USNI News – It was a lazy afternoon on the bridge of the Philippine Coast Guard patrol boat. The crew snacked on crackers and listened to music from an officer’s phone, all the while scanning the horizon and checking their Furuno radar for any new contacts that could join the two China Coast Guard cutters stalking their three-ship formation…

Naval News – The Philippine Navy plans to activate new naval bases in Subic Bay and Mindanao to bolster sustainment and basing capabilities in support of its naval modernization efforts. 

Manila Standard – The Philippine Navy has deployed several warships to support efforts in ensuring the safety and credibility of the upcoming 2025 national and local elections in the southern provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

(Thanks to Alain)

Naval News – The Philippine Navy received today BRP Miguel Malvar, the first of its two guided-missile corvettes from South Korea, amid China’s growing aggression in the South China Sea.

War on the Rocks – Manila is implementing a deterrence posture that imposes reputational costs to China for its use of “gray-zone tactics” in the South China Sea. We use the term gray-zone tactics to define “a strategic approach that operates between conventional warfare and peacetime competition.” The Philippines’ “below-the-threshold” approach to deterrence uses non-military means to impose costs, limiting the risk of escalation while establishing credible threats. Reportedly, Manila has integrated transparency initiatives as a component of its January 2024 Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept.

Naval News – Manila announced that the Navy will receive two submarines for the defense of the country’s archipelago in the largest and final stage of its military modernization program.

Naval News – The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it was conducting an investigation into the origin and purpose of a submarine drone found in the waters of central Philippines.

War on the Rocks – Of all the flashpoints facing the Trump administration on Jan. 20, 2025, China’s campaign of intimidation and maritime occupation in the South China Sea may prove the most concerning for U.S. interests and preventing war in the Indo-Pacific. Beijing has spent decades occupying, building, and militarizing islands in those resource-rich waters through which trillions of dollars of trade pass annually. China’s incessant maritime incursions have ignored the sovereignty of its neighbors, violated international law, and given it strategic footholds for exercising political, economic, and military leverage. The aggressiveness of China’s expansionism has spiked in the last 18 months, with the Philippines as the focal point of its ire. Beijing’s timing is not coincidental. The Philippines, a mutual defense treaty ally of the United States, is entering a pivotal 12-month period in which a convergence of critical issues promises seismic implications for not only its national security, defense, and foreign policy trajectory but also its internal stability. As Beijing has pushed the region to the brink, it has dragged the Philippines to center stage. 

USNI News – The Philippine Navy and Air Force are set to receive small boats and radars from Japan through a $10.6 million Official Security Assistance grant that Tokyo says will strengthen Manila’s capabilities in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.