Three Indian ships reach Philippines for S China Sea drill

New Delhi, May 19

A flotilla of three Indian Navy warships — INS Delhi, INS Shakti and INS Kiltan — has reached Manila on a four-day visit, which will include a “maritime partnership exercise” in the South China Sea.

This is the second such India-Philippines exercise in the area since December. Also, it’s happening amid recent tensions between China and the Philippines over maritime rights in the disputed hydro-carbon rich South China Sea.

Last month, the Philippines was joined in by the US, Japan and Australia — all three partners with India in the Quadrilateral, or the Quad — to carry out what they termed as Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) in the South China Sea.

Also, this is the first India-Philippines exercise since India started the deliveries of the 300-km-range BrahMos missile to Manila.

The US is a key player in the region. When the China-Philippines tensions ratcheted up, the US State Department in March issued a statement that it stood by the Philippines amid China’s “provocative actions” against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea.