Japan, U.S., Australia, Philippines conduct joint naval drills

Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines have held joint naval drills in the South China Sea, the Japanese Defense Ministry said Friday, amid China's continuous attempts to obstruct Manila's supply activities at military footholds in the water.The four countries' training on Thursday comes after a Chinese coast guard vessel shot a water cannon at a Philippine military-chartered boat near the Manila-controlled Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea early this month.The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's largest destroyer, Izumo, and destroyer Samidare took part in the dri…READ FULL ARTICLE