Manila: The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has announced its awareness of the United States’ freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) conducted near the Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, which is a part of Philippine territory located less than 200 nautical miles from Zambales province.

According to Philippines News Agency, DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona highlighted that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees certain rights, including freedom of navigation even within Philippine waters. Escalona stated, “The DFA is aware of the FONOPs conducted by US warships in the vicinity waters of Bajo de Masinloc, which is a longstanding and integral part of Philippine territory.” She further noted that UNCLOS provides for rights such as innocent passage, freedom of navigation, and archipelagic sea lanes passage in the Philippines’ maritime zones.

Escalona clarified that notification is not required for foreign vessels to exercise these freedoms in Philippine maritime zones, in line with international laws, particularly the UNCLOS. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported the sighting of USS Higgins (DDG-76) and USS Cincinnati (LCS 20) approximately 102 nautical miles from Zambales.

PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Commodore Jay Tarriela, stated that the US warships were “exercising navigational rights and freedoms in the West Philippine Sea near the BDM” in accordance with international law. The US defines ‘FONOPs’ as a key component of its strategy to challenge excessive maritime claims and maintain navigation, overflight, and other rights guaranteed to all nations under international law.

This deployment of US Navy ships follows an incident involving China’s maneuvers against Filipino vessels near the Bajo de Masinloc, which led to a collision of Chinese ships on August 11. In response to the incident, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson labeled the Chinese actions as “reckless.”