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PH EEZ Military Cooperation Expands as Japan, Australia, US Join MMCA
The AFP conducted a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) with Australia, Japan, and the US in the Philippines' EEZ to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. General Brawner emphasized strengthening cooperation and interoperability among the armed forces. The exercise followed international law, ensuring safe navigation and respect for maritime rights. AFP Public Affairs Chief Col. Trinidad stated that the nations would conduct operations within a designated area. The Philippines holds exclusive rights to explore and exploit resources in its EEZ under UNCLOS.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) conducted a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) on Wednesday with forces from Australia, Japan, and the United States within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), aiming to promote a "free and open Indo-Pacific region."
AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. explained that the MMCA highlights a collective effort to strengthen regional and international cooperation with allied nations.
Brawner emphasized that the country's naval and air force units worked together with their counterparts "to improve cooperation and interoperability among the armed forces."
He added that the MMCA was carried out "consistent" with international law, ensuring the safety of navigation, as well as the rights and interests of other States.
“This underscores our shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Brawner said.
AFP Public Affairs Chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad noted that the four nations' armed forces would carry out maritime operations within a designated exercise area in the Philippine EEZ.
"Definitely today is the start of the exercise so everybody should be steaming going to the [area], magkikita (they will meet there), and then all the different formations and exercises will be conducted on the said exercise box," Trinidad explained.
The Philippine EEZ extends 200 nautical miles from the baselines of the country’s territorial seas, which also encompasses the West Philippine Sea.
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippines holds exclusive sovereign rights to explore and exploit both living and non-living natural resources in its EEZ, including the water column and seabed beneath the continental shelf.
Source: https://tribune.net.ph/2025/02/05/japan-australia-us-armed-forces-to-join-mmca-in-phl-eez-afp
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