Two Japanese destroyers and one of the Philippines’ newest warships began historic naval exercises in the flashpoint South China Sea on Tuesday, showcasing a deepening alliance aimed at countering a rising China.

The day-long war games, the first bilateral naval exercises between the former World War II enemies, took place less than 300 kilometres (186 miles) from a Philippine-claimed shoal now under Chinese control.

Philippine authorities insisted the exercises were merely focused on building military capabilities, but security analysts said they were clearly a signal to China over bitter maritime territorial disputes.

… The latest joint exercise will likely be just one more step towards closer cooperation between the Philippines and Japan, said Julius Cesar Trajano, senior analyst of Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“Japan is trying to test the waters (to show) that it is willing to assist its partners in the region,” he told AFP.