Japan's coast guard on Friday held a joint exercise with counterparts from the United States and the Philippines, as the three Pacific nations beef up defense cooperation in the face of China's expanding maritime activities.

Joint coast guard exercises held between Japan, the United States and the Philippines off Japan's southwest shore Saturday follow a warning about Chinese activity in disputed regional waters, which Beijing claims almost entirely,

The drills, which will include simulated search and rescue exercise later this week, follow exercises that were held in the Philippines in June 2023.