(Manila) The Philippines will hold joint naval exercises with the United States, Japan and Australia in the South China Sea on Sunday amid China’s growing influence in the region, the four countries announced in a statement .
“Demonstrating our collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation towards a free and open Indo-Pacific, our Combined Defense Forces and Armies will hold a maritime cooperation activity in the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone on April 7, 2024,” they said in a joint statement.
The exercise is planned for Sunday in the South China Sea, a maritime area over which Beijing claims almost complete sovereignty, a few days before a summit which is due to bring together American President Joe Biden and the leaders of the Philippines and Japan in Washington.
Earlier this week, the Australian warship HMAS Warramunga arrived in the Philippine province of Palawan, close to a disputed maritime zone.
Last year, regional tensions intensified, with China more assertively asserting its claims to maritime areas also claimed by the Philippines and Japan, as well as the autonomously governed island of Taiwan.
In response, the United States has sought to strengthen its alliances in the region, particularly with its traditional allies Japan and the Philippines.