Australia, US, Japan, Philippines vow to step up military drills

News Snapshot:

Australia, the US and Japan will step up military drills with the Philippines amid rising tensions with China, with Defence Minister Richard Marles referring to the West Philippine Sea, a term that is a diplomatic repudiation of Beijing’s overlapping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Mr Marles joined his counterparts from the US, Japan and the Philippines in Hawaii on Friday, declaring their commitment to safeguarding freedom of navigation as the Philippines finds itself on the front line of increasingly dangerous clashes with the Chinese Coast Guard.