US, Asia-Pacific nations hold joint exercises in South China Sea

FILE - In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese service boat searches for giant clams in the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, on April 22, 2019. Five nations held joint maritime exercises in the sea on Sept. 28, 2024.

The armed forces of five countries conducted joint maritime exercises in a portion of the South China Sea on Saturday as China carried out its own military drills in the disputed waterway.