Newsweek has contacted Japan's Defense Ministry, South Korea's Foreign Ministry and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for comment via email. China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Japan and the Philippines are part of the first island chain—along with Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China—under a U.S. strategy that seeks to deter potential Chinese aggression. Beijing is in a diplomatic dispute with Tokyo over Japan's stance on Taiwan and has overlapping sovereignty claims with Manila in the South China Sea.
