The United States, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines announced on Saturday their intention to hold the first joint naval and air military exercise in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. A joint statement by the defense ministers of the four countries stated that the joint exercises are planned to begin tomorrow, Sunday.
China's influence is increasing in the resource-rich South China sea, and in the most recent incident, the Chinese Coast Guard used water cannons against a Philippine ship near the disputed shoals late last month.