TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Philippines is reportedly strengthening security ties with Taiwan despite officially adhering to the “one China” policy, according to a Japan Times report Monday.

So far this year, the Philippines has conducted combined coast guard patrols with Taiwan in the Bashi Channel. High-level Philippine academics and military officials have also taken part in forums with Taiwanese generals to better understand Taiwan’s defense needs.

Additionally, Taiwan sent observers to a US-Philippines-Japan military exercise in the Batanes Islands, less than 200 kilometers south of Taiwan, the Washington Post previously reported.

The Post also noted that when a senior Philippine military leader was caught on video telling troops to prepare for a Taiwan invasion scenario, China’s foreign ministry was incensed, calling the Taiwan issue “the core of China’s core interest.”

Tensions between Beijing and Manila have escalated in recent years, particularly around the Scarborough Shoal, which China seized in 2012. Earlier this month, the BBC broadcast footage showing a Chinese coast guard vessel firing water cannons at a Philippine ship near the shoal before striking a larger Chinese vessel.

Philippine officials have framed their cooperation with Taiwan as pragmatic. The Japan Times cited analysts who view Taiwan as a buffer against China’s expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea, saying the Philippines must coordinate with Taipei and Washington to secure its interests.