US, Japan and Philippine forces jointly patrol in South China Sea after hostilities involving China

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States has deployed a reconnaissance aircraft while Japan and the Philippines sent navy ships in a joint patrol in the disputed South China Sea two days after the allied forces condemned actions by Chinese coast guard vessels against Philippine patrol ships. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the joint patrol was conducted Friday in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone by allies and partners to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight” and “other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace.” Those phrases are used by the U.S., Japan and the Philippines to oppose China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters. China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety and has guarded it assertively.