The Pentagon has revealed the existence of a forward-deployed task force in the Philippines focused on supporting Manila’s maritime operations in the South China Sea.
Task Force-Ayungin, composed of American service members and named after the Philippine designation for Second Thomas Shoal, was seen for the first time on Wednesday during Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s visit to U.S. and Philippine troops in Palawan.
“The task force is comprised of U.S. forces providing our Philippines allies with enhanced cooperation and interoperability for their maritime operations,” reads a Monday statement from Pentagon spokesman Maj. Pete Nguyen provided to USNI News.
Nguyen said the task force assists in planning and training for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command. Philippine naval and air forces within this command frequently encounter their Chinese counterparts in the West Philippine Sea, an area of the South China Sea that Manila claims as its exclusive economic zone. Task Force Ayungin’s efforts included the integration of U.S.-funded unmanned surface vessels, which were presented during Austin’s visit to the Command and Control Fusion Center at Antonio Bautista Airbase.
According to the Pentagon, the Maritime Tactical Systems drones were provided under foreign military financing. The Philippine Navy’s unmanned surface vessel unit has four MANTAS T-12s and at least one T-38 Devil Ray, DefenseScoop reported.
“The T-12 is a key capability used by Philippine forces to protect its sovereignty and operate throughout its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea,” reads a Pentagon release. Austin expects more drones to be provided under the $500 million in defense assistance pledged during his visit to Manila in July.
The Philippine national security advisor stressed that Task Force Ayungin only supports Manila’s efforts in the South China Sea, stating that resupply to Second Thomas Shoal “is always a pure Filipino operation.” He also claimed that the task force supports maritime domain awareness efforts.
Second Thomas Shoal has been the site of numerous incidents between Manila and Beijing from 2023 to 2024 over the presence of BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57), a beached Second World War-era landing ship tank. Clashes between the two forces focused on the resupply and personnel rotation of the embarked Philippine Marine Corps contingent. This culminated in a major incident on June 17th that eventually led to a “preliminary agreement” on Manila’s resupply missions. Since then, there have been at least two publicized resupply missions and no encounters with Chinese forces over the shoal.
While it’s unclear when the U.S. and the Philippines created the task force, American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets have been deployed to the Philippines within the last year to bolster Manila’s efforts in the region. These efforts include the deployment of Marine Corps MQ-9A Reaper and Army Grey Eagle drones and the presence of Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft and Army Grey Eagle drones over resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal. Forces across U.S. Indo-Pacific Command have also been affected by the spats around the disputed South China Sea maritime feature. Stars and Stripes reported that forward-deployed Marines in Australia were given a warning order following one incident over the summer.
“U.S. forces have decades of close partnership with the Philippines. This task force is a continuation of that longstanding relationship in support of our shared security interests,” said Nguyen.
