By Robina Asido

The United States and Philippine defense ministers announced the eighth multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MMCA) with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the West Philippine Sea on Friday.

US Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr made the announcement during the press conference held shortly after their bilateral meeting in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Hegseth said US President Donald Trump "values greatly the ability to bring together an alliance".

"I believe as we speak, all three countries are sailing together right now in the region. So we have that kind of security cooperation happening right now with our navies at sea, sending those signals of cooperation," he said.

"The broader our alliance, the better. The more security cooperation, the better. The more interoperability, the better. The more contingencies, the better. Again, the more strategic dilemmas for our adversaries, the better. And so we're here in the Philippines to strengthen that partnership. We'll be in Japan to do the same," Hegseth added.

Teodoro added that the trilateral cooperation between US, Japan and Philippines "has been growing at a very fast pace".

"As a matter of fact, aside from the multilateral cooperative activity right now ongoing, Japan has just announced its operation ? its inauguration of the Joint Operational Command under General (Kenichiro) Nagumo which is at the operational level a result of our trilateral partnership," he said.

"A lot of activities are ongoing, and we are merging and meshing these capabilities together, together with Australia, at a speed which we have not seen in a long long time," he added.

According to the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, the MMCA was joined by BRP Jose Rizal of the Philippine Navy, the United States Navy USS Shoup and JMSDF stealth frigate JS Noshiro which arrived in the country on Wednesday.

"This exercise follows the inaugural port call of JMSDF JS Noshiro at the Naval Operating Base Subic (NOBS)," the Embassy stated.

It also stressed that the port visit and subsequent MMCA reflect Japan’s strong commitment to maritime stability and security.

"By engaging with like-minded partners, Japan continues to reaffirm strategic ties and advance cooperation in safeguarding the free and open use of the seas. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States stand resolute in advancing the shared vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), reaffirming their shared commitment to a rules-based international order that promotes peace, security, and prosperity for all nations across the region," it added. DMS