The Canadian ambassador says his country and the Philippines are in the final stages of negotiating a key defense pact that will allow their forces to hold larger military drills in the South China Sea.

The Philippines, US, Australia and Japan held joint military drills as China continues to assert sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea. The allied nations participated in the 6th Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) in the West Philippine Sea - the parts of the South China Sea within the 200-mile Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone - on 5.