TOKYO (AP) — Japan's coast guard on Friday held a joint exercise with counterparts from the United States and the Philippines, as the three Pacific nations beef up defense cooperation in the face of China's expanding maritime activities.
The exercise came after Japan confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers had operated together for the first time in the Pacific in June. Japan and China had blamed each other after Tokyo complained that a Chinese fighter jet from one of the carriers flew dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.
Friday's coast guard exercise just off Japan's southern prefecture of Kagoshima involved 350 personnel from the three countries, and was based on a scenario of a collision between vessels at high seas, a fire and crew members falling overboard.
The three nation's leaders last year agreed to bolster maritime cooperation, as they expressed concern over Beijing's military maneuvers in the region. Their first joint drills were held in the Philippines in 2023.
The coast guard cooperation is part of an effort to secure a “free and open” Indo-Pacific by promoting mutual understanding and trust, Japan coast guard commander Adm. Yoshio Seguchi told a news conference Wednesday.
China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, and recently as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Beijing also sends coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, which it claims virtually in its entirety, clashing frequently with Philippine vessels.
A Philippine Coast Guard vessel, right, and U.S. Coast Guard patrol vessel participate in a join training off Kagoshima prefecture, southern Japan, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)
In this photo provided by Japan Coast Guard, patrol vessels of U.S. Coast Guard, left, Japan Coast Guard, center, and Philippine Coast Guard, participate in a join training off Kagoshima prefecture, southern Japan, Friday, June 20, 2025. (Japan Coast Guard via AP)
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.
A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.
Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.
The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”
Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.
Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
