Australia on Friday launched its largest military exercises with Philippine forces, involving more than 3,600 military personnel in live-fire drills, battle maneuvers and a beach assault at a Philippine town facing the disputed South China Sea,

With upcoming upgrades to naval bases facing the South China Sea, Manila is set to expand its reach into the disputed littorals off Palawan via the deployment of Marine Corps and Naval Special Operations Group watercraft.

China and the Philippines are trading blame over an incident earlier this week in which two Chinese ships collided in the South China Sea, where both nations have competing territorial claims.