Manila, Jan. 6 -- A ranking Philippine Navy official said Tuesday that the country will conduct more naval drills with like-minded allies in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

At a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said these "drills are a direct result of increased defense diplomacy."

"The thrust of the Department of National Defense (DND) is to enhance more our defense diplomacy, and you could expect that there will be more bilateral and multilateral maritime cooperative activities. There will be more multilateral exercises," he added when asked whether there will be more joint naval drills between the Philippines and its like-minded partner nations....