TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Frequent gray-zone clashes with China in the South China Sea have prompted the Philippines to strengthen its security cooperation with Taiwan.

Philippine academics participated in closed-door forums with top Taiwanese generals earlier this year to better understand Taiwan’s approach to security, Washington Post cited Taiwanese and Philippine government officials and advisers as saying.

They revealed that the Philippine Coast Guard recently conducted patrols with their Taiwanese counterparts in the Bashi Channel. Last month, Taiwan also sent navy and marine corps personnel to observe the Kamandag joint exercise led by US and Philippine marines, they said.

The Taiwanese officers participated in tabletop planning, according to a government adviser. “Our security and military cooperation with the Philippines is going to get closer and closer,” he said.

During the exercise, US, Philippine, and Japanese soldiers fired anti-ship missiles off the Batanes islands, which are less than 210 km from Taiwan’s southern tip, Washington Post reported. 

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said last Thursday that “any force projection of China within our area is a matter of extreme concern,” per Washington Post. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” he added.