The Philippines on Wednesday began a two-day joint maritime and air exercise with the United States, Canada and Australia, according to a joint statement, as Beijing continues to assert its territorial claim to the South China Sea.
Senior military officials from the four countries said the drills would be conducted “within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone” and demonstrate “our collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The exercise comes at a time when Chinese threats to Taiwan and the South China Sea are fueling fears of a potential conflict that could involve the United States.
Beijing claims much of the strategic South China Sea, rejecting an international court ruling that found its claims baseless.
Manila conducted separate naval exercises in the South China Sea last week, first with the United States and then with Japan two days later.
A joint coast guard exercise between the Philippines and Vietnam is also scheduled in Manila Bay on Friday.
The Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with the United States and signed a treaty with Japan last month that will allow them to send troops into each other’s territory.
A Philippine military spokesman told AFP the “multilateral maritime cooperative activity” would be the first as a grouping of the four countries and would involve naval and air units.
“Naval and air units of the participating countries will work together, enhancing cooperation and interoperability between our armed forces,” the joint statement said, which did not name the participating ships and military units.
“Australia, Canada, the Philippines and the United States uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, the right to other lawful use of the seas and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
