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Chinese Navy vessels tail Balikatan warships

TWO more Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted on Monday tailing the Philippine, American and French warships taking part in the 'multilateral maritime exercise' (MME) of this year's Balikatan drills.

Western Command spokesman Capt. Ariel Joseph Coloma, in a message to the Philippine News Agency, said the PLAN ships were detected some 4 to 5 nautical miles as the participants in the MME were sailing 33 nautical miles northwest of Quezon, Palawan.

The first iteration of the Multilateral Maritime Exercise (MME) between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the United States Indo-Pacific Command (US-INDOPACOM), and the French Navy concluded on April 29, 2024 in Palawan, marking a historic milestone in regional cooperation and security. Photo from Armed Forces of the Philippines