The Armed Forces of the Philippines is maintaining its maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea and carried out a joint activity with United States forces, according to Manila Bulletin.
The report, published Friday, did not provide further details on the scale or location of the operations.
Separately, ABS-CBN reported that the Philippine Navy sighted three Chinese vessels near Bajo de Masinloc, and that a Chinese helicopter trailed a Philippine AW109 helicopter in the area.
China's state-run Global Times, in its own account, said Chinese naval and air forces warned and expelled a Philippine helicopter that it described as intruding into the airspace over Huangyan Dao — the name Beijing uses for the feature the Philippines calls Bajo de Masinloc.
The two accounts describe the same waters and feature but differ on which side's activity was at issue.
The developments come amid broader Philippine military concerns about foreign influence operations. The Daily Tribune reported that the AFP warned China's influence efforts could intensify ahead of the 2028 elections, while Manila Standard reported the military is contending with what it calls alleged Chinese influence in the "cognitive domain."
Taken together, the reports point to sustained friction at sea alongside a parallel information-security concern inside the Philippines.
What to watch next: whether the AFP releases further detail on the joint activity with US forces and on its monitoring of vessels around Bajo de Masinloc.
