AFP, Manila :
Two Japanese destroyers and a submarine docked at a Philippine port on Sunday near disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing’s increasingly assertive behaviour has sparked global concern.
Manila is seeking to strengthen ties with Tokyo as tensions mount over the disputed waterway, almost all of which is claimed by China.
Japanese submarine Oyashio and destroyers JS Ariake and JS Setogiri docked in the Subic port Sunday for a routine visit at a sprawling former US naval base just 200 kilometres (125 miles) from a Chinese-held shoal.
“The visit is a manifestation of a sustained promotion of regional peace and stability and enhancement of maritime cooperation between neighbouring navies,” Philippine Navy spokesman Commander Lued Lincuna said.
The Ariake was equipped with an anti-submarine helicopter, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
The port call came on the eve of war games between the United States and Filipino soldiers in the Philippines, which is seen as a showcase of a long-standing military alliance that the Philippines is counting on to deter China.
Two Japanese destroyers and a submarine docked at a Philippine port on Sunday near disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing’s increasingly assertive behaviour has sparked global concern.
Manila is seeking to strengthen ties with Tokyo as tensions mount over the disputed waterway, almost all of which is claimed by China.
Japanese submarine Oyashio and destroyers JS Ariake and JS Setogiri docked in the Subic port Sunday for a routine visit at a sprawling former US naval base just 200 kilometres (125 miles) from a Chinese-held shoal.
“The visit is a manifestation of a sustained promotion of regional peace and stability and enhancement of maritime cooperation between neighbouring navies,” Philippine Navy spokesman Commander Lued Lincuna said.
The Ariake was equipped with an anti-submarine helicopter, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
The port call came on the eve of war games between the United States and Filipino soldiers in the Philippines, which is seen as a showcase of a long-standing military alliance that the Philippines is counting on to deter China.
