For the first time ever, India and the Philippines launched a series of sailing and naval exercises in the South China Sea, starting August 3.
The patrol was described by Shri Harsh Kumar Jain, Indian ambassador to the Philippines, as a demonstration of both countries’ mutual support for maintaining freedom of navigation and upholding a free, open, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.
The joint venture happened in the South China Sea, a place of growing tensions. Indeed, the Philippines and China have territorial disputes over the control of some islands, while India wants to affirm itself as a global power.
During the drill, China deployed ships to monitor the operation from a distance. Moreover, a week earlier, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, called the Philippines “a maker of trouble and danger” in the South China Sea. An analyst close to Beijing also called the naval drill “gesture politics.”
The two-day sail
happened a day before the visit of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., president of the Philippines, to New Delhi to meet with Narendra Modi, prime minister of India. They are expected to sign agreements on law, culture, technology, and possibly military cooperation as well, according to an informed source.
The South China Sea is not the only body of water where rival nations are competing. Indeed, tensions remain high in global seas with rising conflict between different nations. Every year, the maritime borders become a hot spot for political altercations that leave the world wondering what new conflicts are in store.
So, how close are we to seeing such tensions fuel a broader maritime crisis?
Click through to explore the growing threats to global peace.