Australia, Canada and the Philippines deployed naval vessels and aircraft for drills against simulated aerial threats off a disputed South China Sea shoal where China’s military has used dangerous maneuvers to try to drive away Manila’s aircraft and ships.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the drills in late August 2025 east of Scarborough Shoal drew no reaction from China’s Coast Guard, Navy or militia ships, which have patrolled around the uninhabited fishing atoll off the northwestern Philippines for years.
Beijing contends the shoal is its territory, even though the atoll is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and an international tribunal in 2016 rejected China’s claims. Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, a global trade route.
Sailing from a western Philippine province, the Philippine Navy guided-missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal, the Royal Australian Navy guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane and the Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Ville de Québec conducted drills east of Scarborough Shoal, including the “air defense exercise that honed the participants’ capability to counter simulated aerial threats through coordinated defensive maneuvers,” the AFP stated.
At least three fighter jets and two combat helicopters participated. “This engagement reaffirms the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ commitment to advancing defense cooperation with like-minded nations,” the statement said.
The drills were among the final activities of Alon 2025, the largest Australia-Philippines military exercise. It involved more than 3,600 personnel participating in 15 days of live-fire and battle maneuvers.
In early August 2025, a Chinese Navy ship and China Coast Guard ship collided at high speed while trying to block a Philippine Coast Guard vessel near Scarborough Shoal. The China Coast Guard ship’s bow was severely damaged, forcing the vessel to undergo repairs at China’s Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island, the Reuters news agency reported.
Two days after the collision, the United States Navy deployed a guided-missile destroyer and a littoral combat ship on a freedom of navigation operation to challenge China’s excessive territorial claims. The vessels sailed within 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) of the shoal. Manila and Washington are longtime treaty allies.
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