Joint exercises between the Philippines, the United States, Australia and Japan in the South China Sea

According to ISNA, this joint exercise is going to be held in the disputed South China Sea, while US President Joe Biden will hold his first tripartite meeting with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan in a few days.

The senior military chiefs of the United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines wrote in a joint statement released on Saturday: “Our combined military forces will conduct an active maritime cooperation exercise in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines on April 7, 2024.”

They stated that the purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate “the collective commitment of these allied countries to strengthen international and regional cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region”.

According to the “TRT” website, in the statement it was written that the said exercise under the title of “active naval cooperation” includes the units of the air and naval forces of the armies of these four countries.

In the continuation of this statement, it was also emphasized that this exercise is supposed to lead to “strengthening the capability of joint operations based on our doctrines, tactics, techniques and processes”.

The Japanese embassy in Manila announced in a statement that the exercise included “anti-submarine warfare training”.

A few days ago, the Australian warship HMAS Waramanga entered the Philippine island of Palawan in the South China Sea.

In recent months, Chinese and Philippine military ships have had frequent confrontations near several disputed islands in this sea.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in this joint statement: “This joint operation with our allies, Australia, Japan and the Philippines, emphasizes our joint commitment to guarantee the freedom of all countries for air and sea movement and to carry out operations in any Where international laws allow. Our operations together will support peace and stability within our shared vision of a free and open region.”

A spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs also stated that negotiations between the country and Japan on a defense treaty that would allow these countries to station their troops on each other's soil “are still ongoing.”

Manila has already concluded such a treaty with Australia and the United States.

In an interview with Nikkei Business, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that his country should show a greater military presence, assume greater responsibility and provide options for the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

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