MANILA: The Philippines will hold joint naval drills with the United States, Australia, and Japan on Sunday.
The drills will be held in the disputed South China Sea — which China claims almost entirely — days before US President Joe Biden is due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines, AFP reported.
Earlier this week, the Australian warship HMAS Warramunga touched the Philippine Island province of Palawan, which faces the hotly contested waters.
Philippines Drills Aimed at Strengthening Military Ties
The Philippine military said the visit was aimed at strengthening military ties with partner countries.
Biden’s planned April 11 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos at the White House, will be the latest in a series of meetings with Asia-Pacific partners.
The US president will also hold separate bilateral meetings with Marcos and Kishida.
Joint patrols between the US, Philippine, and Japanese coast guards are likely to be announced during the summit after joint drills were held for the first time in 2023.
Meanwhile, talks between the Philippines and Japan for a defense agreement that would allow the nations to deploy forces on each other’s territory were “still ongoing”, a spokesman for the Philippine foreign affairs department told journalists Thursday. Manila already has a similar pact with Australia and the United States.
