China has offered to hold joint military drills with Philippines —Brawner

China has offered to hold joint military exercises with the Philippines, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said Thursday.

Brawner will study the offer which was presented to him by China's ambassador to Manila, he said on the sidelines of an event hosted by Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to mark the anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

"They said they submitted some white papers, so we will have to study," Brawner told reporters, adding that his discussion with Chinese officials on the matter at the event was "informal."

AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar said he did see a video of Brawner's interview and reiterated the conversation he had with the Chinese diplomat was "informal."

"I am not aware if we are already furnished with the white papers," Aguilar told Reuters.

China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We try to establish relations with armies, with armed forces around the world. This is one way for us to prevent war," Brawner said.

Beijing's offer to carry out joint military drills with the Philippines comes at a time of heightened tensions between the countries over what Manila describes as China's "aggressive" activities in the West Philippine Sea.

China has longstanding territorial disputes in the South China Sea with several countries in the region, including the Philippines.

There were no other details given on the proposed joint military drills, but Brawner said they would not be conducted in the South China Sea.

A former Philippine Army chief, Brawner this month took over as armed forces head, succeeding General Andres Centino, who was appointed by Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as his adviser on the South China Sea.

Marcos, who has sought closer ties with Washington, reiterated in his annual address on Monday, that he will protect his country's sovereign rights and territorial integrity.

China does not accept the Arbitral Tribunal's ruling in 2016 which concluded Beijing's claim to almost the entire sea was invalid. — Reuters