Joint sea and air patrols between the Philippines and the US began today in the South China Sea, the Philippine president said

Joint naval and air patrols by the Philippines and the US military began today in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said, calling it a “significant initiative”, Reuters reported.
The Philippine leader’s statement comes amid strengthening ties this year between the two countries, including the decision to nearly double the number of Philippine bases available to the US military.
“This significant initiative is a testimony to our commitment to strengthen the interoperability of our military forces in the conduct of sea and air patrols,” Marcos said on the social network “X” (until recently “Twitter”).
The announcement comes a day after Marcos told a forum in Hawaii that the situation in the South China Sea has become “more serious than before,” saying the Chinese military has moved closer to the Philippine coast.
China claims more than 90 percent of the energy-rich South China Sea, denoting territory delineated by a dotted U-shaped line on its maps. The line goes deep into Southeast Asia, stretching 1,500 kilometers south of the country’s mainland, and crossing the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, Reuters noted.
Marcos has rekindled Manila’s ties with Washington after sour relations between the two countries under his predecessor, who maintained closer ties with China even as Beijing built a number of military installations on artificial islands in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Relations with China have soured significantly, and there have been repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, sparking sharp rhetoric on both sides and fears of possible escalation.