FACT CHECK: ‘Asian forces’ did not send ships in the West Philippine Sea to attack China
Claim: The US, Japan, Australia, and India sent naval ships in the West Philippine Sea to attack China.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook page PH Voice posted a video on October 1. It had 157,000 views, 354 comments, and 7,900 reactions as of writing.
What the video says: The video says in its caption: “Sabay-sabay na dagok! Pwersa ng Asya nagpadala ng mga barko para kuyugin ang China!” (Concerted blow! Asian forces sent naval ships to attack China!”)
The narrator of the video, however, referred to the US, Japan, Australia, and India as the “Asian forces” in the video.
The narrator said: “Ilang bansa sa rehiyon ang nagtalaga ng kanilang hukbong pandagat sa West Philippine Sea upang suportahan ang Pilipinas sa nagpapatuloy na alitan nito sa China. Ang United States, Japan, Australia, at India ay kabilang sa mga bansang tumugon sa patuloy na panghihimasok ng China sa Pilipinas at iba pang teritoryo sa Asya.”
(A few countries in the region delegated their naval force in the West Philippine Sea to support the Philippines in its ongoing conflict with China. The United States, Japan, Australia, and India are some of the countries that responded to the persistent intrusion of China in the Philippines and other Asian territories.)
The facts: The US, Japan, Australia, and India – countries referred to as the “Asian forces” in the video – did not send naval forces to the West Philippine Sea to attack China.
Recent presence: Some of the naval forces of Australia, Japan, and United States are currently in the West Philippine Sea. These countries are participating in the annual Maritime Training Activity (MTA) Sama Sama 2023, a two-week multilateral maritime exercise that kicked off on October 2.
Other participating countries in the 7th Sama Sama Exercise are Canada, France, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.
According to a press release of the US Navy, the exercise will include drills on anti-submarine, surface and air warfare, and maritime awareness. It will also include shore and sea trainings that will focus on medical, and legal concepts, engineering, logistics, and public affairs.
Sama Sama Exercise used to be a bilateral event between the US and the Philippines, but in 2022, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) held Sama Sama and Lumbas, a bilateral exercise between the Philippines and Australia, simultaneously.
Similar claim: Earlier in September, Rappler fact-checked a similar claim that said battleships from the US, Japan, and Australia retaliated against China over its recent acts of hostility in the West Philippine Sea.
The claim is false; instead, the ships seen in the West Philippine Sea joined the Philippines in the Indo-Pacific Deployment (IPD) 2023 last August 24. The quadrilateral exercise aimed to strengthen defense cooperation among the four countries. There was no mention that the joint drills were directed against China.
However, ABC News earlier reported that according to unnamed Filipino officials, the drill aimed to underscore the US, Japanese, and Australian commitment to the rule of law in the region after the recent incidents of Chinese maritime aggression against the Philippines.
Rappler has already published several fact-check articles on claims about foreign vessels’ supposed attacks on China:
- FACT CHECK: Marcos did not say UK Royal Navy to help patrol West Philippine Sea
- FACT CHECK: US, PH did not attack Chinese warships in West PH Sea
- FACT CHECK: No Japanese ship sent to West Philippine Sea
– Ailla Dela Cruz/Rappler.com
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. You may also report through our Viber fact check chatbot. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.