India, Philippines stage joint sail and naval drill in disputed South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines — India and the Philippines staged joint sail and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea for the first time, a high-profile military deployment that will likely antagonize China. Beijing has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian democracies and a long-running regional rivalry with New Delhi. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday that the two-day joint naval sail and exercises which began Sunday have been successful so far and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India’s military in more joint maneuvers in the future. Asked if Chinese forces carried out any action in response, Brawner said without elaborating that “we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already.” In past joint patrols with other foreign navies, Chinese navy and coast guard ships have kept watch from a distance, according to the Philippine military. China has a longstanding land border dispute with India in the Himalayas, which sparked a monthlong war in 1962 and a number ofWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times