Five nations’ armed forces engaged in joint maritime exercises in a section of the South China Sea on Saturday, coinciding with China‘s own military activities in the contested waters. The drills, which included participants from the Philippines, the United States, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand—marking New Zealand’s inaugural involvement—were conducted within Manila’s exclusive economic zone and aimed to enhance military interoperability, according to a statement from the Philippine armed forces.

The exercises featured a Philippine warship, the USS Howard from the United States, Japan’s JS Sazanami, and New Zealand’s HMNZS Aotearoa. Australia’s Department of Defence emphasized that these drills underscored a shared commitment to bolster regional and international collaboration for a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

These exercises come in the wake of numerous air and sea confrontations between the Philippines and China, which have been at odds over various disputed regions in the South China Sea, notably the Scarborough Shoal, a highly contested area that has been under the control of China’s coast guard for over ten years.

On Wednesday, naval ships from New Zealand and Australia traversed the Taiwan Strait, which is part of the South China Sea. China, asserting its claim over Taiwan, maintains that it holds exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait. In contrast, both the United States and Taiwan assert that the strait is an international waterway, crucial for global trade, with approximately half of the world’s container ships passing through it.

During a speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasized that Australia has consistently urged China to prioritize peace and stability in both the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Wong also noted the positive development of renewed dialogue at both leadership and military levels between the U.S. and China, as reported in a transcript.

Shortly after discussions aimed at alleviating regional tensions between China’s top diplomat and his U.S. counterpart, Chinese air and naval forces conducted exercises in a contested area of the sea.

China asserts sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which has led to tensions with neighboring countries such as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, all of whom have competing maritime claims.