Photo of US-Japan military drills misrepresented as 'standoff in South China Sea'

"Oh no! China assault ship en route to Escoda blocked by a US Navy destroyer" read the Tagalog-language headline of this video posted on September 16, 2024. 

The thumbnail shows two large ships side-by-side at sea. Superimposed above the vessel on the left is an image of the United States flag, and below is the text "US Navy replaces the BRP Teresa Magbanua?"

Escoda is the Philippine name for Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, a feature claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam, China and the Philippines (archived link).

The Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Teresa Magbanua had been anchored inside the shoal since April to assert Manila's claims to the area and prevent China from seizing it.

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Screenshot of false post taken on September 25, 2024

Beijing has continued to press its claims to almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Philippine and Chinese vessels have collided at least three times recently near Sabina Shoal, located 140 kilometres (86 miles) from the Philippines' western island of Palawan and 1,200 kilometres from China's nearest major landmass, Hainan island. 

But the Philippine ship was abruptly called back to Palawan in September, with Manila citing damage from an earlier clash with Chinese ships, ailing crew members, dwindling food and bad weather (archived link).

In August, Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner said the United States offered to escort Manila's resupply missions to outposts in the South China Sea, following Beijing's intensifying efforts to block them. Brawner added that the Philippines would not take up the offer until it reached a point when they could not deliver life-saving provisions and troops were "on the verge of dying" (archived link).

The YouTube video was shared elsewhere on the platform and Facebook here and here. 

While the YouTube channel flashed a disclaimer that the clip was produced "purely for entertainment purposes", many social media users seemed to believe it showed a genuine news report.

"Thank you big brother USA, we count on you," wrote one.

"Thank you America for your presence at Escoda Shoal," another said.

But the claim in the video is false. 

A reverse image search using TinEye shows the thumbnail features a US and Japan vessel in the South China Sea in 2017 (archived link). 

The image was captioned: "The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) transits the South China Sea with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship JS Izumo (DDH 183) on May 27, 2017."

The two allies conducted a "brief bilateral exercise" involving the two vessels. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the circulating video (left) and the original image (right):

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A further review of the eight-minute footage shows the narration is unrelated to the video's false headline.

It shares unattributed information on "missile systems" delivered to the Philippines that appears loosely based on old neww reports from July 2023 (archived links here and here).

A Philippine senator at the time questioned the landing of US military cargo aircraft in the Philippines during joint military drills (archived link).

A manipulated photo showing non-existent fighter jets on Philippine-held Thitu Island, which is part of the hotly contested Spratly Islands, was also featured at the clip's four-minute mark (archived link).

The original image, published by local media outfit Palawan News in 2021, does not show any fighter jets (archived link).

Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, public affairs chief of the Philippine armed forces, told AFP on September 25: "The claims made in the circulating video are false."

"There were no C-17 Globemasters that delivered missile systems nor were there any incident in Escoda shoal involving a US Navy destroyer. There are also no F-35s in [Tithu] Island and the photo shown was clearly manipulated." 

"This channel should be avoided and reported for producing and disseminating false information," Trinidad added. 

AFP has also debunked other videos shared by the same YouTube channel here, here, and here.