MANILA – Naval and Air Force units of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and the Philippines will operate together to enhance cooperation and interoperability between nations, as well as show solidarity in pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, under the fourth Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA).

This was confirmed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in a joint statement released on Saturday, 28 September.

“The combined armed and defense forces of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States, demonstrating a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, will conduct a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, 28 September,” the joint statement read.

According to the AFP, the naval and air force units of participating nations will operate together “enhancing cooperation and interoperability between our armed forces.”

The AFP further reiterated the “shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Meanwhile, the United States echoed the AFP’s statement, saying that “the U.S., along with our allies and partners, uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect to the maritime rights under international law.”

The first multilateral MMCA was participated by U.S., Japan, Australia and Philippine naval and air force units last April and held within the country’s EEZ in the contested waters of the West Philippine Sea.