Aircraft carrier spotted near Scarborough is US ship joining in Balikatan drill – authorities

April 10, 2019

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Wednesday that the aircraft carrier reportedly spotted near the area of Scarborough shoal in the disputed South China Sea is a United States Navy ship involved in the ongoing Balikatan exercise.

"The vessel that was spotted is part of the Balikatan exercise, it is together with two Philippine Navy ships," Maj. Ericson Bulosan, AFP Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) Public Information Officer, said.

In a statement, the information bureau of the Balikatan confirmed that the USS Wasp, a multi purpose amphibious assault ship of the US Navy, and the Philippine Navy were conducting exercise off the waters of Subic Bay but it refused to give the exact location of the vessel for security reason.

"USS Wasp has been training with Philippine Navy ships in Subic Bay and in international waters of the South China Sea as part of Exercise Balikatan for several days. As a matter of force protection and security, we do not disclose specific locations of our ships," the Balikatan information bureau said in a statement.

The 35th iteration of the Balikatan exercise between the US and Philippine Forces started on April 1 and will end on April 12.

"Balikatan is a U.S.-Philippine military training event that focuses on maritime security and amphibious capabilities, as well as multinational interoperability through military exchanges," the information bureau said.

This was the first Balikatan exercise to "incorporate the USS Wasp paired with the United States Marines Corps’ F-35B Lightning II aircraft," it said.

"Together they represent an increase in military capability committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Participating in Balikatan demonstrates their ability to forward deploy in support of an ally should a crisis or natural disaster occur," it added. Robina Asido/DMS