Philippines, US, Australia, and Japan hold joint military drills

Japan joined the United States, Australia, and the Philippines for joint naval and air drills in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday, as China announced its own exercises in the strategic waterway, Report informs, citing The Japan Times.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines, United States Indo-Pacific Command, Australian Defence Force, and Japan Self-Defense Forces successfully conducted the first Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday," the Philippine military said in a statement, using Manila's official designation for sections of the South China Sea.

The statement said that the joint exercise involved naval vessels and aircraft and had taken place in an area within the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone in the strategic waterway.

The drills, which included the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akebono destroyer, included a communication exercise, division tactics, and a photo exercise.