FOCUS: Philippine drills with Japan, U.S. near key channel sends message to China

MANILA - The Philippines' joint maritime drills with Japan and the United States last month near a strategically important waterway south of Taiwan were the latest sign the three countries are exploring how to better respond in the event of a contingency in the region, security analysts and military officials say.

Billed by the Philippines as a "maritime cooperative activity," the four-day maritime and air exercise from Feb. 23 near the Bashi Channel, a key economic and military passage connecting the South China Sea to the Pacific Ocean, came as policymakers are looking forward to ramp up deterrence efforts against an increasingly assertive China.