KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (KUNA) -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced on Friday the navies of the Philippines, the US and Japan trained alongside each other in the South China Sea this week to ramp up cooperation among the military allies.
In a statement, AFP said the training, known as Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA), is the second such activity this month, reaffirming the commitment of partner forces to boost interoperability, reinforce maritime security and improve maritime domain awareness.
The training, from February 20 to 26, was built on similar training activities earlier this year.
Philippine assets included the Navy's BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) with an embarked AW-159 helicopter, along with the Philippine Air Force's aircraft such as FA-50 fighter jets, C-208B, A-29 "Super Tucano" and a "Sokol" (W-3A) search and rescue helicopter, the military said.
Japan contributed a P-3 "Orion" maritime patrol aircraft, the United States deployed USS Dewey (DDG-105) and a P-8A "Poseidon".
Since 2023, the Philippines has worked with a number of countries to assert its rights and maritime entitlements in the South China Sea. (end) aab.sam