This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
Just a few days before a never-before-held conference in Washington D.C., boats and aircraft from the Philippines, the United States, Japan, and Australia conducted a massive joint exercise in the South China Sea on Sunday.
The first intergovernmental meeting will be held at the White House on April 11 with U.S. President Joe Biden, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to talk safety assistance.
The Philippines ‘ military said in a statement that the three countries and Australia” successfully conducted the first Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity ( MMCA ) in the West Philippine Sea on Sunday, April 7 ).”
Six naval ships and four plane “performed communication training, section tactics or Officer of the Watch movement, and a picture exercise”.
These actions were intended to strengthen the ability of the various forces to cooperate efficiently in sea scenarios, according to the statement.
Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., the head of the Philippine Armed Forces, reported that” two Foreign naval ships were spotted during the joint practice.”
” But these Navy submarines did not do anything ,]did not ] block or reduce the tasks that we were doing. They ]exercises ] continued and our]multilateral ] maritime cooperative activity was successful”, he said.
Manila has just accused Foreign coast guard ships of obstructing and harassing its supplies operations at the Next Thomas Shoal, where it maintains an outdated ship as a military airbase.
However, Minoru Kihara, the Japanese Defense Minister, claimed that the combined activity demonstrated “our shared commitment to develop regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the U. S. “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, and admiration for maritime right under international regulation…” Kihara said in a , joint declaration.  ,
” Every land should be free to conduct valid air and sea functions”, U. S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added.
The director for the Philippine Armed Forces, Col. Xerxes Trinidad, told reporters in Manila that there were” no untoward occurrences” during the joint maneuvers.
Beijing’s answer
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army ( PLA ) announced on the same day that it had also conducted a” joint naval and air combat exercise” in the South China Sea.  ,
” All defense activities that destroy the South China Sea and make spots are under control”, the PLA Southern Theater Command said in , a statement , on the blogging site Weibo.  ,
Beijing has accused Washington of using its supporters as “pawns” to destroy the area and pose a threat to China’s safety.
The South China Sea is currently the focus of Southern Theater Command’s primary responsibility, which recently included a true combat training exercise.
