MANILA (AFP) – The Philippines will hold joint naval drills with the United States (US), Japan and Australia, two diplomatic sources told AFP yesterday.
The exercise will be held on Sunday – days before US President Joe Biden is due to hold the first trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan.
The diplomatic sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the drills have not yet been officially announced.
Earlier this week, the Australian warship HMAS Warramunga arrived at the Philippine island province of Palawan.
The Philippine military said the visit was “aimed at strengthening military relations with partner nations”.
Biden’s planned April 11 summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House will be the latest in a series of meetings with Asia-Pacific partners. Biden will also hold separate bilateral meetings with Marcos and Kishida.
Joint patrols between the US, Japanese and Philippine coast guards are expected to be announced during the summit, one of the diplomatic sources told AFP, after joint drills were held for the first time last year.
