U.S., Australia, Japan, Philippines eye more maritime exercises

SYDNEY -- The defense chiefs of the U.S, Japan, Australia and the Philippines say they will hold more maritime military drills as they look to boost cooperation as part of efforts to ensure a "free and open Indo-Pacific."

The officials converged at Camp H. M. Smith, a U.S. Marine Corps base in Hawaii for a series of bilateral and joint talks, against a backdrop of increasing tensions, with China recently firing a water cannon at Philippine ships in the South China Sea.