Chinese Warship 536 and Philippine Navy Trade Radio Challenges Over Sabina Shoal During 19th MMCA With US, Australia

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, US Pacific Fleet and Australian Defence Force completed the 19th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) on August 25, 2026, a week-long exercise (Aug. 19-25) in the West Philippine Sea involving the Philippine Navy frigate BRP Diego Silang (FFG7) and PCG vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua, the US littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS-32) and P-8A Poseidon aircraft, and the Australian replenishment oiler HMAS Supply (A-195) with an embarked MH-60R helicopter. Chinese naval and coast guard vessels — a Luyang-class destroyer, a Jiangkai II-class frigate, a Hubei-class missile boat, a Jiangdao-class corvette and two coast guard ships — shadowed the participants throughout, maintaining 2-4.5 nautical miles' distance. In one exchange reported August 26-27, Chinese warship 536 radioed the Philippine Navy vessel BRP Diego Silang (commanded by Capt. John Percie Alcos) near Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Jiao to China), asserting Chinese sovereignty over the shoal and ordering it to leave; the Philippine side responded that the Chinese vessel was inside Manila's exclusive economic zone and that the neighboring Kalayaan Island Group features belonged to the Philippines under UNCLOS, which it said rendered China's claims baseless. No physical contact occurred and the exercise concluded as planned; AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad called it a demonstration of 'enduring commitment' to interoperability among the three militaries.