By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE US military on Saturday deployed its advanced anti-ship missile system in the northern Philippines for combat exercises as part of the annual Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games, the Philippine military said on Sunday.

The US Marine Corps brought the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) aboard a C-130 cargo plane to an undisclosed location in northern Luzon, where it would participate in military drills within Cagayan and Batanes provinces, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“The NMESIS provides the combined and joint force a flexible and expedient sea denial capacity, contributing to the collective defense of both countries,” it said in a statement.

The military exercise in northern Luzon would see Philippine and US forces rehearse how to repel an invasion and test the Philippines’ coastal defense system. It is intended to strengthen security cooperation and enhance force interoperability in response to China’s actions to asserts its expansive claims in the region.

The Balikatan exercises, the Philippine and US militaries’ largest annual drills, this year held combat exercises near regional flashpoints, such as Batanes province near Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Since its launch on April 21, about six Chinese research vessels have been detected sailing near Batanes province, Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said.

“An unusual number of China’s research vessels have been deployed around Batanes last week,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. Beijing may have deployed the ships in response to the joint military drills that will mostly be concentrated in the northern Philippines and its west coast, he added.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

This also followed a Philippine Navy report that a Chinese aircraft carrier group and a spy ship were monitored sailing near the coast of the Philippines’ northernmost islands last week.

Separately, the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) on Friday said its Nimitz aircraft carrier group is operating in the Philippine Sea, where it would practice day and night flight operations and the ability to rapidly deploy military jets in a variety of weather conditions. 

“These activities support maritime security and ensure the US Navy maintains the combat readiness to project power across the theater,” the US INDOPACOM said in a statement published on its website.

The South China Sea has become a regional flashpoint as Beijing continues to assert sovereignty over almost the entire sea, seen as a vital global trade route that is believed to be mineral-rich.

Philippine and Chinese forces have repeatedly sparred over competing claims in the sea, with tensions flaring around disputed maritime features such as the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Just last week, Chinese state media reported that Chinese coast guard has asserted sovereignty over a disputed reef near a Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, in a development that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the disputed sea.

China’s coast guard has “enforced maritime management” on Sandy Cay, landing on the maritime feature that lies just kilometers away from Thitu Island (Pag-Asa Island) which hosts a Philippine military facility, China’s state-backed Global Times reported on April 24.

The Philippine Defense department and Armed Forces of the Philippines did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

The Chinese coast guard did “on-reef inspection” and recorded “illegal activity,” all while coast guard officials displayed China’s national flag on the reef, Global Times reported.