A Facebook (FB) page uploaded clips of military exercises held in Hawaii and Korea in 2022 and 2014, respectively to mislead netizens that they are recent developments in the West Philippine Sea.
Posted on July 2 amid heightened tensions between China and the Philippines, the two-minute and 43-second video showed several warships conducting an operation. The caption read:
“West Philippines Sea Update Juli 2024
#BETAwards #SocialMediaDay #usnavy #PhilippineNavy #Philippines #WestPhilippineSea.”
This is misleading. These are old photos of warships from the United States, Japan, Australia and Korea participating in separate joint military exercises in 2022 and 2014 and were not taken in the WPS.
The first set of clips shows warships of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy on their way to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise from June 29 to Aug. 4, 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 surface ships, four submarines and approximately 180 aircrafts participated in RIMPAC 2022 that took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California,
Other clips were taken from a compilation video of U.S. and Korean warships participating in the bilateral exercise Ssang Yong in 2014 that took place in Pohang South Korea. Ssang Yong 14 is an annual combined exercise to strengthen Korean forces interoperability on disaster relief and other complex expeditionary operations.
The misleading video circulated more than two weeks after the June 17 Ayungin incident where the China Coast Guard harassed and blocked the Philippines’ routine humanitarian and resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre.
The United States, Japan, Australia and Korea all condemned China’s aggressive actions against the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.
On July 8, the Philippines and Japan signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement allowing joint combat training between the two nations’ military, further enhancing their defense cooperation.
The video uploaded by the FB page Sulastri (created on May 5, 2023 as Sulastri putri) garnered 7,900 reactions, 333 comments, 266 shares and 206,000 views.
