Chinese drones detected off Vietnam days before military drills with Philippines

Chinese drones were detected in Vietnam's airspace twice recently, a response, experts say, to the joining of forces between Vietnam and the Philippines. "The Chinese WZ-10 surveillance drone entered Vietnam's airspace twice in close succession, in response to joint exercises with the Philippines," Roni Sontani, founder of Indonesia-based Airspace Review said in a report Wednesday, the most recent drone flight. The drone incursions came within a week of the joint coast guard training exercises between Vietnam and the Philippines. On Tuesday, when asked by Reuters about a Chinese unmanned military aircraft that was seen flying over Vietnam's EEZ on August 2, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she didn't have any information and referred Reuters to the competent authorities. On Friday, the Philippines and Vietnamese coast guards conducted their first joint drills in Manila Bay, off the west coast of Luzon, leading into the South China Sea. On Thursday, the Philippines completed two days of maritime exercises with the militaries of Australia, Canada, and the United States, a first involving the four countries, to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. Last month Vietnam filed a claim with the United Nations for an extended continental shelf in the South China Sea, a month after the Philippines made a similar move in June.