Japan joins U.S., Philippines for military exercises in waters near Taiwan

Japan, the Philippines and the United States held joint military drills near the Bashi Channel, the waterway between the Philippines and Taiwan, for the first time earlier this week.

The naval and aerial exercises were conducted under the framework of the Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA), and ran from Feb. 20 through Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Maritime Self-Defense Force took part in the drills, deploying a P-3C patrol aircraft for flight training alongside the U.S. and Philippine forces, the Japanese Defense Ministry’s Joint Staff Office said in a statement Friday.