Philippines, Japan conduct joint exercise in South China Sea

The Philippines and Japan conducted a joint maritime exercise Saturday in an area of the South China Sea that the Southeast Asian country insists it has jurisdiction over, amid China's intensifying claims in the waters.The Miguel Malvar, a guided missile frigate from the Philippine Navy and the Takanami, a destroyer from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, took part in the exercise, which was held west of the town of Masinloc on the Philippines' main island of Luzon.The exercise, called the Maritime Cooperative Activity, is aimed at strengthening international cooperation to achieve a free…READ FULL ARTICLE