During the exercises, an air intruder appeared right above the city of San Antonio, which was spotted in the sky by a radar. So far, the Philippines has not identified what it was, and the drills were immediately suspended following the incident, the Inquirer newspaper reported.
"Safety is the primary consideration in conducting the exercise, any interloper and intrusion in the exercise that will endanger the lives of people — whether intentional or accidental — these are general considerations," spokesperson for Philippines’ col. Michael Logico said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was watching how the two countries’ navies were sinking a ship of a potential enemy – a decommissioned Philippine corvette – near San Antonio, the Manila Times reported. Marcos hopes the country will "benefit from enhanced cooperation with the United States," the presidential spokesman said, according to the news outlet.
Around 12,200 US soldiers and 5,400 service people of the Philippine armed forces are taking part in the drills, which started on April 11 and will last through April 28.