View from Manila: An anti-submarine drill in the West Philippine Sea 

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MANILA, Philippines – In the latest Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) between the Philippines and Japan, the most notable drill was not for the naked eye to see: an anti-submarine warfare drill in the West Philippine Sea.

Japan’s JS Takanami dropped a mobile anti-submarine warfare training target meant to simulate a submarine. The BRP Miguel Malvar, commissioned into the Philippine Navy just a month ago, then located and fired upon it. The Takanami followed suit.

Both instances, said the Malvar‘s acting executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Bryan Magura, resulted in a hit of the imaginary submarine.

The exercise — along with the rest of the drills on June 14 that the Malvar and Takanami engaged in — was important for several reasons.

For the Malvar, exercises early in her career are important so the crew gets a feel of how the ship actually performs in real life.

“We learn every time we go out to sea. We learn something new, especially when it comes to our new capabilities,” Magura said.

ALL SMILES. Naval aviators share smiles aboard BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG06), reflecting pride in the successful joint operations and the strengthened partnership between the Philippines and Japan. Photo courtesy of PAOAFP

The Malvar, of course, is the Navy’s latest asset, freshly commissioned during its anniversary in late May. While it’s made by the same makers of another guided missile frigate, the BRP Jose Rizal, there’s a marked difference between the two vessels, most notably in just how armed the Malvar is.

“We keep on improving ourselves and keep on enhancing the unit’s effectiveness,” Magura added.

It was the first time for the Malvar to test out its anti-submarine capabilities after its commissioning.

It’s also a flex of the Philippines’ efforts to deepen defense ties with longtime partners.

“This activity highlights the deepening trust and coordination between the two allies as they respond to traditional and emerging security challenges in the region,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in their release on the MCA.

The June 14 drills took place just a week after the Japanese Diet approved the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a Visiting Forces Agreement-like deal that would allow the two Asian nations to work closer together militarily.

The RAA paves the way for possible bilateral military exercises, just like the ones the Philippines holds yearly with the United States, and one every two years (at most) with Australia.

The Malvar, named after the Filipino general who served during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippines-US war, has been on a training streak. Its first mission, held a week before the MCA with Japan, was an MCA with the United States Indo-Pacific Command and the Philippine Coast Guard (the irony for the ship named after Malvar’s first mission to have involved “fire support rehearsal” with the US Marines was not lost upon me — but that’s a story for another day).

The task ahead for the Malvar, its forthcoming sister ship the BRP Diego Silang, and the rest of the Philippines Navy is daunting.

In the West Philippine Sea, Chinese ships abound — be it from its navy, coast guard, and large vessels that pretend to be there for fishing.

Even on June 14, with the JS Takanami in full sight, there was at least one Chinese Navy vessel in the exercise box — although it did not make its presence felt nor did it interfere in the drills. We were told a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel was also spotted in the vicinity of the MCA with the US the week prior.

It’s their ubiquity in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone — slow, gradual, but constant — that’s made it not only urgent, but an existential matter for the Philippines to fast-track both its military modernization efforts and the expansion of its partnerships and agreements with defense and security partners old and new.

Following the approval of the RAA and the signing of a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with New Zealand is the expected SOVFA with Canada.

France is also waiting in the wings for their turn at SOVFA negotiations — timely, considering that French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for an alliance of European and Asian nations against the “spheres of coercion” during the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore.

But as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. navigates post-2025 disarray and the general chaos of the midterm mark of any term, will the defense and diplomatic corps still manage to stay the course and continue to build on the strides of the past three years?

Back to the Malvar, there was no talk — on or off record — about geopolitical issues or the reliability (or lack of it) of the Philippines’ partners. Instead, there were briefings on each person’s tasking and jokes over who’d fall victim to the rough seas and subsequent seasickness (when a sailor hands you Bonamine, you take it — no questions asked).

But what were loudly spoken about were the missions at hand.

BILATERAL TIES. Personnel from both the Philippine and Japanese navies share a moment of unity, capturing a photo on the JS Takanami (DDG110) during a cross-landing exercise, on June 14, 2025. Photo courtesy of PAOAFP/JMSDF

On June 14, it’s for the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat to patrol the vicinity of the exercise box, land safely on the JS Takanami, exchange tokens, and land on the Japanese ship again, before finally returning to the Malvar.

For the token exchange, just in case you’re curious, the Japanese handed over a plaque while a sailor from the Malvar brought patches and memorabilia from the frigate.

For the crew of the Malvar, it was making sure each series (or each individual drill) would be completed without a hitch. After all, this wasn’t just a practice for the sake of. Should the need arise, the Malvar and her counterparts should be able to detect and neutralize a submarine.

A long and exhausting day of drills and exercises ended on a rather campy note: the Malvar’s crew manning the rail bid goodbye to the Takanami and her crew as the theme of the Japanese anime Gundam blasted from the bridge. – Rappler.com