FACT CHECK: India, Pakistan, US, Japan have not sent 1,000 ships to PH

Claim: India, Pakistan, US, and Japan have sent over 1,000 ships to the West Philippine Sea.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The TikTok video bearing the claim was posted on June 30 by an account with 3,099 followers, which has posted other videos with similar claims.

The video shows a fleet of ships with the text “1,000+ na boat ang nagbabantay!” (Over 1,000 boats are on guard!). As of writing, the video has 270,900 views, 10,600 likes, and 1,561 shares.

The bottom line: There are no reports from the US, Philippines, Japan, Pakistan, or India about any naval deployment or joint maritime activities involving these five countries in the West Philippine Sea. The video provides no evidence for its claim, and no credible news outlets have reported on the supposed deployment of 1,000 ships to the Philippines.

The most recent joint maritime activity before the video’s publication involved the US, Canada, Japan, and the Philippines taking part in “a series of activities and maritime maneuvers to test and validate the interoperability of our armed forces’ doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures,” according to the US. Held from June 16 to 17, the activity involved only four ships, not a thousand.

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Fleet size: As of writing, the US Navy has 238 vessels in active commission, Japan has about 142 vessels, India has about 150 vessels, and Pakistan about 31 ships and submarines. Contrary to the claim, the combined naval power of these four countries falls short of the supposed 1,000 ships deployed to the West Philippine Sea.

Support for the Philippines: Only India, Japan, and the US have affirmed support for the Philippines and its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, or a part of the South China Sea overwhelmingly claimed by China.

Pakistan, on the other hand, supports China in the South China Sea issue and continues to deepen its bilateral relationship with Beijing.

False posts on the South China Sea issue have surfaced in recent months amid China’s growing aggression against the Philippines. Manila continues to assert the 2016 arbitral ruling in its favor, while Beijing has refused to acknowledge the ruling invalidating its claims in the disputed waterway.

Rappler has already published multiple fact-checks on supposed maritime actions in the South China Sea:

– Kyle Marcelino/Rappler.com

Kyle Marcelino is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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