The militaries of the Philippines and the United States launched joint patrols on Tuesday in waters near Taiwan, officials of the Southeast Asian nation said, a move likely to fan further tension with China.

The Philippine military said two FA-50 light combat aircraft and an A-29B Super Tucano light attack plane would participate in air exercises, while the United States would send a P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

The drills, which also involve navy vessels participating in a maritime exercise, would start off in Mavulis island, the Philippines' northernmost point, located about 100 km off Taiwan, said Eugene Cabusao, spokesperson for the Northern Luzon command.

The patrols are likely to irk China, which claims most of the South China Sea on the basis of a "nine-dash line" that stretches as far as 1,500 km south of its mainland, cutting into the EEZs of rival claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Production: Adrian Portugal; Video from Armed Forces of the Philippines

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