Philippine fleet conducts unilateral exercises in Subic Bay

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy is conducting a unilateral naval exercise in the waters southwest of Subic Bay, Zambales, from August 27 to 30.

The exercises have focused on in-depth warfare operations at sea, according to a statement from the Philippine Fleet on Thursday afternoon.

Lt. Giovanni Badidles, the fleet’s public office chief, said the exercise aims to test and enhance the operability of the involved assets.

“This unilateral exercise will test and validate existing warfare doctrines, test new capabilities in multi-dimensional warfare for us to develop common TTPs to address existing gaps and enhance the interoperability and battle readiness of OCF vessels, specifically the Jose Rizal Class Frigates and Del Pilar Class Patrol Vessels,” said Captain Joselito De Guzman, acting commander of the Offshore Combat Force, in a statement.

The navy’s offshore combat force's capital ships, BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna, are the primary vessels involved in the exercise.

Aerial assets such as the AW159 helicopter and Beechcraft TC-90 are also involved in the exercise.

The sea exercises aim to test the integration between the frigates from the Jose Rizal Class and the air assets' Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities, as well as conduct system checks following drydocking repairs in Ulsan, South Korea, last July.

Phases. The exercise consists of two stages: the Harbor Phase and the Sea Phase. The Harbor Phase emphasizes planning, training discussions and lectures from experts. The Sea Phase, meanwhile, includes a series of exercises designed to replicate different scenarios requiring quick decision-making, accuracy and collaboration among all participating assets.

“These will test not only technical skills and knowledge in the new capabilities and multi-dimensional warfare but also the unit’s teamwork, discipline, and leadership,” the Philippine Fleet’s statement read.

Big picture. This activity comes after a series of aggressive actions by Chinese maritime and aerial elements against Philippine naval and aerial assets in the West Philippine Sea.

It is one of the few exercises conducted by Philippine naval assets without being part of a joint operation with a foreign country.