The U.S. Pacific Fleet said on its website on July 17 that the United States, Canada, Japan, and the Philippines conducted a two-day joint maritime exercise in Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet said the drill was aimed at “upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, reaffirming the four nations’ commitment to bolstering regional security and stability.”
The exercise involved four warships and a series of maritime maneuvers to test and validate the interoperability of our armed forces’ doctrines, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
In April, the Philippines conducted another joint maritime activity with Japan, Australia, and the United States.
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The Philippines has asked countries supportive of its claims in the South China Sea, to counter the increasing aggressiveness of Communist China, which claims almost the entire strategic waterway for itself.
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Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam have competing claims of sovereignty in portions of the South China Sea, a passage through which $3 trillion in goods move every year.
Reuters contributed to this report.
