(UPDATE) PHILIPPINE, United States, and Japanese warplanes flew over the Bashi Channel that separates the Philippines from Taiwan this week as part of a joint security exercise, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officials said Friday. The aircraft patrolled the skies over the Philippines’ northernmost Batanes islands in drills aimed at showcasing their “ability to operate seamlessly together in complex maritime environments,” the AFP said in a statement. It was the first time that Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activities (MMCAs) involving the countries was expanded beyond the South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated clashes over disputed territory. Little more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) separates the Philippines and self-ruled Taiwan, which China views as its territory and has not ruled out taking by force. “Air operations were conducted within airspace over Philippine territory and its territorial sea, north of Luzon,” the military said, adding naval vessels had stayed west of the Batanes island chain. Armed Forces Public Affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad told Agence France-Presse it was the “first time” MMCA operations had been conducted in the “said operational box.” The military’s statement said that the box extended “up to the northern tip of Luzon, particularly Mavulis Island,” which hosts small Philippine navy and marine detachments. China’s military reacted angrily to the drills on Friday. “The Philippines co-opted countries outside the region to organize the so-called joint patrols, disrupting peace and stability in the region,” said Zhai Shichen, spokesman for the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command. Zhai added that China had conducted a “routine patrol” of the South China Sea from Feb. 23 to 26. In November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent relations with Beijing into a tailspin by suggesting that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan. Beijing imposed export restrictions and warned its citizens against visiting Japan, while accusing Tokyo of attempting to “revive militarism.” Japan’s defense minister upped the ante by saying on Tuesday that Tokyo planned to deploy surface-to-air missiles on one of its remote western islands located near Taiwan by early 2031. In August, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned that the Philippines would be dragged “kicking and screaming” into any war over Taiwan. “I hope it doesn’t happen.... But if it does, we have to plan for it already,” he said, citing the large numbers of Filipinos working in Taiwan. The six-day exercise that ended on Thursday included a live-fire gunnery conducted by the guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna. The Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Gabriela Silang also took part. The US contributed the USS Dewey and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, while Japan deployed its P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.