US, Japan, Australia and the Philippines to stage military drills in disputed South China Sea

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines will hold their first joint naval exercises, including anti-submarine warfare training, in a show of force Sunday in the South China Sea where Beijing’s aggressive actions to assert its territorial claims have caused alarm. The exercises are to safeguard “the rule of law that is the foundation for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region”, the four treaty allies and security partners said in a joint statement Saturday. China was not mentioned in the statement, but the four countries reaffirmed their stance that a 2016 international arbitration ruling, which invalidated China’s expansive claims, was final and legally binding.