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US and Philippine fighter aircraft jointly patrol disputed shoal region guarded by China

Philippine air force FA-50 fighter jets fly with two US air force B-1 bomber aircraft during a joint patrol and training over the South China Sea (Image credits: AP)

MANILA: US and Philippine fighter aircraft staged a joint patrol and training Tuesday over a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese fighter jets fired flares last year to drive away a Philippine aircraft, Philippine officials said.
The joint patrol and air-intercept drills over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines were the first by the longtime treaty allies since US President Donald Trump took office again.
Trump's "America First" foreign policy thrust has sparked concerns among Washington's allies in Asia about the scale and depth of US commitment to the region in his new term. His predecessor, Joe Biden, had moved to strengthen an arc of security alliances in the region to counter China's increasingly assertive actions.
Two US air force B-1 bomber aircraft and three Philippine air force FA-50 fighter jets joined the brief patrol and training, which involved practicing how to intercept a hostile aircraft, Philippine air force spokesperson Maria Consuelo Castillo said in a news briefing.

It was not immediately known if the joint patrol encountered any challenge from Chinese forces guarding the Scarborough Shoal.
"The exercises focused on enhancing operational coordination, improving air domain awareness and reinforcing agile combat employment capabilities between the two air forces," the Philippine air force said.
In August last year, two Chinese air force aircraft flew close then fired flares in the path of a Philippine air force plane on routine patrol over the Scarborough Shoal in actions that were strongly condemned and protested by the Philippine government, military officials said.
All those aboard the Philippine air force NC-212i turbo-prop transport plane were unharmed, the Philippine military said.
The Southern theater command of the Chinese people's liberation army said then that a Philippine air force aircraft "illegally" entered the airspace above the shoal and disrupted training activities by Chinese forces. It warned the Philippines to "stop its

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