A total of 17,680 soldiers will take part in the annual drills, which for the first time will include live-fire exercises in the disputed South China Sea and a simulated defense of a small Philippine island nearly 300 kilometers south of Taiwan.

The countries will also stage an amphibious landing on the western island of Palawan, the closest Philippine landmass to the Spratly Islands, a flashpoint for Beijing and Manila.

"Any armed forces has the right to conduct military exercises," said Col. Michael Logico, the Philippine spokesman for the war games called Balikatan, which means "shoulder to shoulder" in Filipino.

"It's really part of our combat readiness," he said.

The announcement comes less than six weeks after Manila and Washington agreed to restart joint patrols in the South China Sea and struck a deal to give US troops access to another four military bases in the Southeast Asian country.

Both countries have been seeking to repair ties that were fractured under President Ferdinand Marcos's predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.

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