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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin listens during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing Fiscal Year 2025 on Capitol Hill, April 17, 2024, in Washington. Austin and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines gather in Hawaii for their second-ever meeting of defense ministers on Thursday, May 2, 2024. John McDonnell, AP Photo/File 

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Lloyd Austin

Associated Press

<div style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1714717600087AP24123817486665.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin listens during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing Fiscal Year 2025 on Capitol Hill, April 17, 2024, in Washington. Austin and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines gather in Hawaii for their second-ever meeting of defense ministers on Thursday, May 2, 2024. John McDonnell, AP Photo/File  "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin listens during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense budget hearing Fiscal Year 2025 on Capitol Hill, April 17, 2024, in Washington. Austin and his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines gather in Hawaii for their second-ever meeting of defense ministers on Thursday, May 2, 2024. <em>John McDonnell, AP Photo/File </em></span><em> </em></span></span></span></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">HONOLULU (AP) — Defense chiefs from the U.S., Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China&#x27;s operations in the South China Sea.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The meeting came after the four countries last month held their <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-china-sea-united-states-japan-philippines-6f2c83d4157d9c8902d161ba2b23075a" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">first joint naval exercises</a> in the South China Sea, a major shipping route where Beijing has long-simmering territorial disputes with a number of Southeast Asian nations and has caused alarm with its recent assertiveness in the waters.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a news conference after their discussion that the drills strengthened the ability of the nations to work together, build bonds among their forces and underscore their shared commitment to international law in the waterway.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the defense chiefs talked about increasing the tempo of their defense exercises.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">“Today, the meetings that we have held represent a very significant message to the region and to the world about four democracies which are committed to the global rules-based order,” Marles said at the joint news conference with his counterparts.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Austin hosted the defense chiefs at the U.S. military’s regional headquarters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at Camp H.M. Smith in the hills above Pearl Harbor. Earlier in the day, Austin had separate bilateral meetings with Australia and Japan followed by a trilateral meeting with Australia and Japan.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Defense chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore last year.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The U.S. has decades-old defense treaties with all three nations.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, but has deployed Navy ships and fighter jets in what it calls freedom of navigation operations that have challenged China’s claims to virtually the entire waterway. The U.S. says freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters is in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-military-aquilino-china-security-north-korea-bb41e692490b13cfcc0a6e28fd8f9bef" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">America’s national interest</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich sea. Beijing has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated its expansive claims on historical grounds.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Skirmishes between <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philippines-dispute-south-china-sea-patrol-27ee9778f7302938c5090644e3d153c2" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">Beijing and Manila</a> in particular have flared since last year. Earlier this week, Chinese coast guard ships <a href="https://apnews.com/article/philippines-disputed-shoal-south-china-sea-scarborough-27a2ef0bda953cb6bda4f42057fb7e39" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">fired water cannons</a> at two Philippine patrol vessels off off Scarborough Shoal, damaging both.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The repeated high-seas confrontations have sparked fears of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-china-destroyer-south-china-sea-5f761c49179f622b8c296885c46a2a80" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">a larger conflict that could put China and the United States on a collision course.</a>. The U.S. has warned repeatedly that it’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-china-sea-philippines-collision-67aa7e2ca5df4f4e3a7c3bceff46c26f" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">obligated to defend the Philippines</a> — its oldest treaty ally in Asia — if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">President Joe Biden&#x27;s administration has said it aims to build what it calls <a href="https://apnews.com/article/japan-philippines-trilateral-kishida-marcos-biden-03e6288c5b5155af1bb693a464de875d" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--linkLightColor);text-decoration:none;background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;outline:none">a “latticework” of alliances</a> in the Indo-Pacific even as the U.S. grapples with the Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;line-height:1.4;padding:0.8rem 0px !important;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Beijing says the strengthening of U.S. alliances in Asia is aimed at containing China and threatens regional stability.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/5/3/china-water-cannon-attacks-vs-philippine-vessels-irresponsible-us-defense-chief-1224" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China water cannon attacks vs PH vessels &#x27;irresponsible&#x27;: US Defense chief</a></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Defense chiefs from the U.S., Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China's operations in the South China Sea.</p>

Defense chiefs from the U.S., Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen their cooperation as they gathered Thursday in Hawaii for their second-ever joint meeting amid concerns about China's operations in the South China Sea.

Defense chiefs from US, Australia, Japan and Philippines vow to deepen cooperation

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Defense chiefs from US, Australia, Japan and Philippines vow to deepen cooperation

Associated Press,

Audrey McAvoy

Published May 03, 2024 02:31 PM PHT

|

Updated Jun 11, 2024 02:57 PM PHT

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Australia

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Philippines

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