Chinese carrier passes 15 nautical miles off Philippines

The Philippine military said Tuesday that China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group passed within 15 nautical miles of Philippine land this month without answering radio challenges, as ASEAN defence ministers gather in Cebu on Oct. 28 and 29.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also counted 54 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels in the West Philippine Sea from Oct. 20 to 26, up from 31 the week before, the Daily Tribune reported.

Retired Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the AFP’s special spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, told a briefing at Camp Crame on Oct. 27 that the carrier’s passage was “no cause for alarm.” He called it part of the Chinese navy’s “periodic” carrier activity and said Philippine monitoring was “constant and active.”

“This time around they passed the western seaboard,” Trinidad said, adding that the ships “came close within 15 nautical miles to our landmass,” according to DZRH. The group moved from the north of the country toward waters off Zamboanga del Norte and then into the Celebes Sea, the radio network reported.

The Philippine Navy ships BRP Diego Silang and BRP Emilio Jacinto shadowed the group, with the coast guard vessel BRP Sarangani in support. The air force contributed a Black Hawk helicopter and an NC-212i aircraft, DZRH reported. Trinidad said the Chinese ships did not respond to radio challenges.

The distance is reported differently elsewhere. An Oct. 27 assessment by the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute put the closest approach at 50 nautical miles. The AFP’s own spokesperson gave the 15 nautical mile figure. Canada News Media has not seen the AFP’s tracking data.

Ace Barbers, a House prosecution panel adviser and spokesman, said the Liaoning was escorted by the warships Wuxi, Anshan and Huainan. He called for a stronger Philippine Navy or coast guard presence in the Basilan Strait and said the ships reportedly switched off their automatic identification system transponders, the Manila Times reported. China has not commented in the reports reviewed.

The assessment from the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute said the carrier left China on Oct. 13 with two Type 055 cruisers and a Type 052D destroyer and entered the South China Sea on Oct. 15. Its analysts argued that the movements may simulate breaking through the first island chain, a reading that is the analysts’ own and not an official Philippine or Chinese position.

The Philippines hosts the 20th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting and the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Cebu on Oct. 28 and 29 under the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together,” the Philippine News Agency reported. Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. chairs both, as part of the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN chairship. The Plus meeting brings the 10 ASEAN members together with eight dialogue partners.

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will be in the Philippines from Oct. 28 to 30, Jiji Press reported. He plans to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, along with his South Korean and Philippine counterparts. “We will stress the importance of holding dialogue and increasing our ability to prevent conflicts,” Koizumi told a news conference on Tuesday.

Canada is not among the eight dialogue partners in the ADMM-Plus, but it has a direct defence link to Manila. Defence Minister David McGuinty and Teodoro signed a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement on Nov. 2, 2025, which is meant to let the Canadian Armed Forces and the Philippine military take part in each other’s exercises and operations, National Defence said. McGuinty said at the time that the agreement “marks a significant milestone in the enduring partnership between our two nations.”

The stakes are also personal in Canada. Statistics Canada’s 2021 census counted more than 957,000 people who reported being Filipino, or 2.6 per cent of the population, the fourth-largest racialized group in the country. Canada News Media has covered that community’s losses in the Lapu Lapu Day attack in Vancouver, and regional tension elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan’s dispute with Seoul and Beijing over Yasukuni offerings.

The ministers’ talks end Oct. 29, and Koizumi’s visit runs through Oct. 30. Global Affairs Canada’s travel advisory for the Philippines is available at travel.gc.ca.

Via the Daily Tribune, DZRH, the Manila Times, the Philippine News Agency (through Bernama and The Star) and Jiji Press (through nippon.com).

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