This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now licensed for reprint.
On the same day that China conducted military exercises around Taiwan, combined exercise Sama Sama, under the leadership of the Philippines and the United States, entered a crucial stage that simulated genuine cases in the South China Sea.
Joint Sword-2024B, a large-scale exercise by China’s Eastern Theater Command, was conducted on Monday in the air and waters of the Taiwan Strait and surrounding Taiwan island to” take a stern reminder to the secessionist deeds of Taiwan independence causes,” a word that China typically uses to refer to the Taiwan state.
Only hours later, participating marine forces from the Philippines and the U. S.” properly conducted a series of sophisticated sea drills”, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, or AFP, said in , a statement , on social media.
They focused on “anti-submarine war and joint patrol functions”, it added.  ,
Sama Sama, or Togetherness in Tagalog, started last week and lasts for two days in the waters off northern Philippines facing Taiwan. Its 2024 training also involves employees from Australia, Canada, France and Japan, and spectators from the United Kingdom.
Analysts noted that China’s Liaoning plane carrier group had entered the Bashi Channel between the Philippines and Taiwan a day before and was manifest in the south of Taiwan during Joint Sword-2024B, but both the exercise’s area and those of the Chinese drills appeared to be very far from one another.
Key phase
According to the AFP’s statement, the drills on Monday included a Combined Anti-Submarine Exercise, or CASEX, where troops engaged in torpedo drills using the expandable mobile anti-submarine warfare training target, which simulates , the characteristics of a submarine.  , in order to “hone their anti-submarine warfare techniques in a realistic and controlled environment”.
They also conducted a combined nighttime patrol that simulated “real-world scenarios of patrolling contested waters” in addition to CASEX.
The U. S. Navy said in an earlier statement that specialized teams, including diving and explosive ordnance disposal units,” will conduct high-intensity drills focusing on anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare, and maritime domain awareness”, – which it said set Sama Sama apart as a more sophisticated exercise in both complexity and scope.
The participating personnel also conducted search-and-rescue, and shipboard casualty care drills, showing that they were” not only focused on combat readiness but also on humanitarian assistance and disaster response, integral aspects of modern naval operations” . ,
The Royal Canadian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and other allied navies will take part in later exercises, the AFP said.
Six parties including Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam hold claims to parts of the South China Sea but China’s claim is by far the most expansive. Between Beijing and Manila, tensions have recently increased due to some reefs, which both sides have increased patrols.
Sama Sama, now in its eighth iteration, “reflects the spirit of the decades-long partnership between allies in the region” and is not targeted at any country, the U. S. Navy said.