Philippines, US, Japan hold drills in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines, November 17 ------ The Philippines, the United States and Japan conducted another round of maritime drills in the West Philippine Sea, demonstrating a growing regional unity and cooperation, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said.

The AFP said the exercises featured a series of coordinated maritime and aerial operations, including rendezvous time, communication check, maritime domain awareness contact reporting, resupply at sea approach, anti-submarine warfare, cross-deck landing and division tactics/officer of the watch maneuver. “The continuing (maritime exercises) reflect (our) commitment to safeguarding the nation’s sovereign rights and advancing collective defense readiness alongside trusted partners,” the AFP said.

According to the AFP, the engagements highlight the country’s resolve to defend its maritime domains, shared commitment with partners to strengthen deterrence, enhance interoperability and uphold freedom of navigation under a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific.

Source: philstar.com