As the Philippines and the United States kicked off the 40th iteration of their annual Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises, the Philippine Navy confirmed the presence of a Chinese aircraft carrier group near the country’s northern maritime boundaries.
According to Navy spokesperson Captain John Percie Alcos, the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Shandong (CV-17), accompanied by another vessel from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), was detected on April 22 in waters near the Babuyan Islands, a critical area north of Luzon.
“The Philippine Navy, through its intelligence surveillance reconnaissance capabilities, monitored two PLA Navy ships off our northern coasts last April 22, 2025,” Alcos told reporters.
Alcos said that around 9 am on April 22, the Philippine Navy monitored the aircraft carrier Shandong, which was detected about 2.23 nautical miles southwest of the Babuyan Islands. Later that day, around noon, a Type 815A Chinese electronic surveillance ship (AGI-797) was also observed approximately 33.11 nautical miles northwest of Dalupiri Island.
The United States Naval Institute corroborated the sightings in a recent report, noting that the Shandong was operating closer to the Philippines for the second time this month. A map from Japan’s Joint Staff Office placed the carrier around 200 nautical miles east of the northeastern tip of Luzon, intensifying concerns over the increased frequency and proximity of Chinese naval deployments.
Chinese warships near Philippine waters
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy’s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, disclosed that a total of nine Chinese vessels were detected earlier this week.
“This was one of the larger or unusual formations we have monitored, considering that we had the aircraft carrier with six warships — destroyers and frigates — escorting her, along with two support vessels,” Trinidad said.
“They were monitored first roughly 100 nautical miles northwest of Burgos, Ilocos Norte, and we kept tracking them until they were almost within the bounds of our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) on the western part of Cagayan as of yesterday evening,” he said on April 24.
Trinidad emphasized that while the vessels entered the area under the premise of innocent passage, permitted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Navy issued a standard radio challenge. No response was received from the Chinese warships.
“The closest to our islands in the north was roughly three nautical miles. While this is quite close, these are allowed under UNCLOS under the right of innocent passage provided that it is continuous and expeditious,” he noted.
“Again, we do not speculate on the intention of their warships in our waters. What we do is we challenge them, we monitor them, to ensure that they traverse continuously and expeditiously,” he added.
The naval movements occurred just as the Philippines, United States, and Japan commenced their joint maritime exercises in Philippine waters, ranging from Subic Bay to Northern Luzon. These exercises aim to enhance interoperability, regional security, and maritime domain awareness amid increasing tensions in the region.
Japan’s active involvement in Balikatan underscores the growing cooperation among allies in the face of China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
Balikatan highlights missile systems
Beyond the geopolitical messaging, Balikatan 2025 also serves as a training ground for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to utilize its newly acquired systems, some of which mirror the advanced platforms used by U.S. forces.
Colonel Doug Krugman of the U.S. 1st Marine Expeditionary Force highlighted the relevance of using the NMESIS, or Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, during this year’s drills.
Krugman explained during a televised interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on April 23: “I think it’s in the exercise because the purpose of the exercise is to ensure we are advancing capabilities. The AFP has recently acquired BrahMos, a coastal defense cruise missile system, and the NMESIS is of similar capability.
“So, as we are working to ensure interoperability, I think it’s natural that we will bring a similar capability to exercise alongside AFP.”
The NMESIS is a mobile anti-ship missile system capable of engaging targets up to 100 nautical miles away. Its deployment alongside the Philippine BrahMos system highlights the evolving combat capabilities of the AFP.
Brigadier General Michael Logico, assistant exercise director and spokesperson for Balikatan, agreed with Krugman’s assessment, noting that the presence of the NMESIS and its integration with the BrahMos system would enhance their capabilities.
“So, with the presence of the NMESIS and we are also intending to train that in conjunction with our BrahMos system—these are capabilities that will expand our reach beyond our territorial waters,” Logico said.
The BrahMos missile, which can be launched from ships, aircraft, submarines, or land platforms, has a top speed of Mach 2.8 and can carry warheads weighing between 200 and 300 kilograms across a range of up to 300 kilometers.
Running from April 21 to May 9, this year’s Balikatan marks the 40th edition of the long-standing military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States. The drills come at a critical time, as the region grapples with increasingly complex maritime security challenges and shifting geopolitical alignments.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled that China had no legal basis for its sweeping claims over the South China Sea—a ruling Beijing has refused to recognize.
Photo credit: Philippine Navy. The Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong (CV-17) was tracked approximately 2.23 nautical miles southwest of Babuyan Island on April 22, 2025.
