The United States has joined the Philippines and several other allies in the latest series of naval drills hosted by the Southeast Asian nation amid tensions with China.
Exercise “Sama Sama”, a Tagalog word meaning “together,” got underway Monday, bringing together elements of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet and the navies of the Philippines, Japan, France, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom in waters off the Philippine island of Luzon.
The nine days of training come as Chinese maritime forces continue to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Beijing has called its doorstep, including in the Philippines’ internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. The U.S. ally reported a record 251 Chinese ships operating within the zone at one time last month.
Speaking at the Luzon port of Subic, Rear Admiral Todd Cimicata, commander of the Seventh Fleet’s Task Force 73, told the press the drills aim to strengthen a “deterring effect” but are not aimed at any single country.