US, Philippines prepare joint military exercise next week, WaPo reports

The U.S. and the Philippines are preparing to hold a joint military exercise next week as tensions between the Philippines and China escalate in the South China Sea, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday citing more than a dozen officials.

The United States and the Philippines will conduct joint naval drills beyond the 12 nautical miles of the Philippines' territorial waters for the first time since the annual exercise started in 1991, in areas of open sea that are claimed by China, the newspaper reported.