A Facebook (FB) post used photos and text to falsely claim that 300 military vehicles and 20,000 troops from the United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (U.K.) arrived in the Philippines last week. These photos are old and were taken during military events outside the country.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) refutes reports circulating online about the arrival of US and UK troops and equipment in Subic. The AFP emphasizes that such a large-scale deployment would have been officially announced and corroborated by multiple credible sources,” the AFP said in a July 2 statement.
The post’s claim and photos came from a June 27 video posted by YouTube channel MILITARY INFORMATION. It read:
Breaking: Now Philippines surprised by the arrival of 300 Military Vehicles and 20,000 US and UK Soldiers…
The British naval vessel Hurst Point arrived at Subic Bay Port, Philippines, on June 26, 2024, carrying nearly 300 military vehicles and equipment to support large-scale operations. This equipment will be transported and deployed in several areas under threat of attack from China.
“This operation is a tangible step towards ensuring that the Southeast Asian region remains stable and secure,” said a U.K. military official. “We are committed to supporting the Philippines in dealing with any threats that may arise.”
Contrary to the claim, the British roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) cargo ship Hurst Point is nowhere near the Philippines. Navigation data from vessel tracking websites VesselFinder and Marine Traffic shows that the ro-ro ship is currently traveling across the South Atlantic Ocean, west-northwest off the port of Gibraltar.
The photo of three military vehicles, originally published by the website Defence Blog on Jan. 17, 2023, shows the British FV430 Bulldog armored personnel carriers sent to Ukraine.
The photo of two American soldiers carrying bags and hauling military equipment, originally published by the U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on May 8, 2017, shows members of the Arkansas National Guard being deployed to Kosovo.
The photo of military vehicles advancing beside a docked ship was originally published by the U.S. DVIDS on May 30, 2017. It shows troops from the U.K. 20th Armoured Brigade unloading vehicles in Alexandroupolis, Greece as part of joining Exercise Noble Jump in Romania.
Click on the images to view the original sources.
The fabricated post from FB page War today garnered 1,196 reactions, 253 comments and 391 shares. It appeared a day after the Philippine government filed a diplomatic note against China over the June 17 confrontation in Ayungin Shoal.
