Will the Philippines and the US conduct joint military exercises to counter China?

The Philippine Department of Defence asserts that recent Chinese claims led to the joint naval exercises between the Philippines and the United States.

According to Interaksyon (Philippines), at a press conference on June 20 in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters: “We hope that the relevant countries can do more useful things to promote national security. I also hope that countries can trust each other to protect regional peace and stability.”

China's South China Sea No. 9 drilling rig

China issued this statement in response to reports of joint military exercises in the South China Sea between the Philippine Navy and the US Navy.

Philippine Defense Ministry spokesman Rommel Rodriguez affirmed on June 20 that the joint military exercise was due to China's increasingly excessive claims against its neighbors, further escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

In a related development, Ms. Hoa Xuan Doanh confirmed that the China Maritime Safety Administration has planned to deploy four oil rigs to Vietnamese waters.

Ms. Hua Chunying justified the drilling rig's operations as "normal activity" and argued that other countries should not "join forces" to oppose it. She also stated that the rigs were operating entirely in the offshore waters of Guangdong and Hainan provinces.

According to VOV